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A TREATISE 



OF 



Spiritual Life 



TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN 

OF 

Mgr. Charles Joseph Morozzo, Cistercian Abbo*. and 
Bishop of Bobbio 



BY 



Rev. D. A. Donovan, O. Cist. 



SECOND REVISED EDITION. 




FR. PUSTET 
Printer to the Hoi}' See and the Sacred Congregation of Rites. 

FR. PUSTET & CO., 

NEW YORK & CINCINNATI. 



y x <\o\ 



Umprimatur, 

■I«JOHN J. KAIN, 

Abp. Coadj., St. Louis. 
ox, Louis, Mc., Nov, 2, 1893. 






THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Cowe8 Received 

*JUN. 4 1902 

_„ Copyright entry 
ipLASSO^XXc. No 
COPY B. 



Copyright, (901, by 

E R W IN STEINBACK, 

of the firm of Fr. Pustet & Co, 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



As far as I can ascertain, this is the first trans- 
lation into English of the Cursus Vitae Spiritu- 
alise a work published nearly two centuries and 
a quarter ago with the approbation of the Master 
of the Sacred Palace, and reprinted lately with 
similar approval. This places the author's doc- 
trine beyond all cavil, and leaves no room for 
question, except as to the fidelity and style of the 
translation. 

In the former, I trust it will be found substan- 
tially exact, while I by no means claim for it im- 
munity from minor faults of rendering or diction. 
There are indeed a few obscure passages, where 
possibly I may have misapprehended the author's 
meaning, and there are certainly many others 
that would bear a somewhat different rendering to 
the one I have chosen. In all these cases, how- 
ever, I may say with Saint Paul : Quisque suo 
sensu abundet. 

As to the latter, I have studied throughout to 
give as literal a rendering as the difference of 
idiom would permit; both because I wished to 



m 



IV TBANSLATOB'S PEE FACE. 

preserve the charming simplicity of the original 
without any effort at embellishment, and because 
I believe, whatever may have been said to the 
contrary, that a true translation should repro- 
duce an author's ideas in his own words or their 
nearest equivalents. 

The author's long dedication to the Blessed 
Virgin I have omitted, as a practice now entirely 
obsolete. For the rest, I am confident the faith- 
ful of every state and condition will welcome the 
reappearance of this long-concealed treasure, and 
will largely avail of the wealth in its pages. I 
have a hope, too, that this translation may help 
to open the eyes of the deluded "Latter-day 
Saints," "Entire Holiness People," and those 
who "get Keligion," to the extreme folly of 
their systems, and teach them what true sanc- 
tity is. 

The late Kedemptorist editor, who rescued the 

work from unmerited obscurity, seems not to 
have been aware that its author is the same, who 
subsequently became Abbot and Bishop ; and had 
it been written after he had attained to ecclesias- 
tical preferments, it would no doubt have met a 
better fate. But better late than never. 

The Translator. 



CONTENTS. 



Part First.— OF THE PUKGATIYE WAY. 

PAGE. 

Chapter 1.— Of the State of Beginners 11 

§1. Of the Sinner's Wretched State Before Conversion 12 

§2. Of the Order, Manner and Signs of Conversion. . 15 

§3. Of Bringing Forth Fruits Worthy of Penance 18 

§4. In What Order Beginners are to Proceed in the ^ ^3 

Soul's Purgation / 

§5. Of Venial Sin, and its Losses and Remedies, S 07 

and of Some Occult Sins J 

§6. Of Spiritual Training and Direction 33 

§7. That it is Necessary to Make Known the Whole 1 

Interior State of Soul to the Spiritual Teacher; ! o~ 
and of the Distinctive Marks of a Good and 

Bad Teacher 

§8. What the Spiritual Life is ....'. 40 

§9, Of the Marks of the Spiritual Life. 42 

§10. Of the Impediments of Spiritual Life 45 

§11. Of the Helps of Spiritual Life 49 

§12. Of the Active Life, and its Works and Aim 52 

§13. Of the Contemplative Life, and its Twofold \ .- 
Mode. What are its Works. What its End. . . J 

§14. Of the Mixed Life, and its End and Offices 56 

§15. Of the Perfection of the Spiritual Life, and in 1 ^ 

What it Consists J 

§16. Of the Fruits, or Effects of Perfection 60 

§17. That the Spiritual Life is Not Difficult 64 

§18. Some Other Objections to Spiritual Life are Re- 1 gg 

futed J 

Chapter II.— Of the Seven Capital Sins, and! 7 ~ 

of Entering the Combat Against Them, j 

"§1. Which are the Capital Vices? 74 

§2. Of Preparing Eequisites for the Extirpation of \ »n 

Vices j 

§3. Of the Manner to be Observed in the Extirpation 1 79 

of Vices J 

§4. Of Man's Danger Even in the State of Grace 82 

§5. Of Avoiding Extremes in the Combat Against 1 84 

Vices , ... j 

v 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Chapter III.— Of Gluttony 87 

§1. Which are the Degrees and Acts of Gluttony 87 

§2. Why the Vice of Gluttony is to be Detested 89 

§3. Of Remedies for Overcoming Gluttony 92 

§4. What Rule Ought to be Observed in the Use of \ Q , 

Victuals | y4 

§5. Of the Signs of Conquered Gluttony 97 

Chapter IV.— Of Lust 98 

§1 . Of the Relics of Lust Remaining After Conversion 98 

§2. Of Incentives to the Hatred of Lust. . - 100 

§3. Of Remedies Against Lust 102 

§4. How We are to Fight Against the Flesh and its 1 -,q 7 

Corrupt Desires J 

§5. Of the Signs of Extinguished Lust 109 

Chapter V.— Of Covetousness Ill 

§1. Of Acts of Covetousness. Ill 

§2. Why Covetousness is to be Hated 113 

§3. Of Remedies Against Covetousness 117 

§4. Of the Signs of Defeated Covetousness 119 

Chapter VI.— Of Anger 120 

§1. Of the Acts of Anger 121 

§2. On the Wide Diffusion of Anger 123 

§3. Motives to Excite Hatred of Anger 125 

§4. Of the Remote Remedies cf Anger 127 

§5. Of the Causes of Anger, aud of Their Remedies. 130 

§6. Of the Remedies of Anger— continued 133 

§7. Of the Signs of Subdued Anger 137 

Chapter VII.— Of Envy 138 

§1. Of the Acts of Envy 139 

§2. Incentives to Hatred of Envy 140 

§3. Of Remedies for the Extermination of Envy 142 

§4. Of the Signs of Vanquished Envy 144 

Chapter VIII.— Of Sloth 145 

§1. Of the Acts of Sloth 145 

§2. Of Some Incentives Towards Shunning Sloth .... 147 

§3. Of Remedies for Sloth 149 

§4. Of the Signs of Sloth Overcome 152 

Chapter IX.— Of Vainglory and Ambition 153 

§1. Of the Acts of Vainglory and Ambition 153 

§2. For What Reasons We Ought to Fly Ambition \ ..- A 
and Vainglory J 104 

§3. Of the Remedies of Vainglory and Ambition.... 157 
§4. Of the Signs of Expelled Ambition and Vainglory 160 



CONTENTS. Vll 

PAGE. 

Chapter X.— Of Pride 161 

§1. Of the Acts of Pride 161 

§2. Of Incentives to the Detestation of Pride 164 

§3. Of Remedies for Chasing Away Pride 166 

§4. Of the Renunciation of Pride 168 

§5. Of the Signs of Eradicated Pride 171 

Chapter XI.— Of the Capital Vices According 1 172 

to a Higher Discernment / 

§1. Of Spiritual Pride 173 

§2. Of the Other Vices According to the Same Sense 174 

Chapter XII.— Of Mortification and its Utility. 177 

§1. Of the Manner of Exercising Mortification 177 

§2. Of the Right Use of Mortification 181 

§3. Of the Threefold Degree of Mortification 183 

Chapter XIII. —Of Mortification of the Senses \ , 86 

and Exterior Acts j 

§1. Of Mortification of the Eves 186 

§2. Of Mortification of the Ears 189 

§3. Of the Mortification of Taste, Smell and Touch.. 191 

§4. Of the Regulation of the Entire Body 193 

§5. Of the Regulation of Exterior Actions 195 

Chapter XIV. — Of the Custody of the Tongue.. 198 

§1. In What Way the Tongue is to be Guarded 199 

§2. The Principal Vices of the Tongue to be) 2 n9 

S hunned in Speech J 

§3. Of Remedies of Vices of the Tongue 208 

§4. Of the Government of the Tongue Even in \ Q11 

Lawful Things / Zii 

§5. How the Wicked Tongue of Others is to be En- \ 01/1 

dured ... J ^ 14 

Chapter XV.— Of Mortification of the InteO 21g 

rior Senses J 

§1. Of Mortification of the Interior Sensitive Facul-l 2 io 

ty, which is Called Phantasy or Imagination. J 

§2. Of a Threefold Kind of Thoughts and of Their 'i 221 

Renouncement j 

§3. Of the Government of the Sensitive Appetite. . . . 224 

§4. Of the Passions of the Sensitive Appetite 227 

§5. Of Love and Hatred 230 

§6. Of Desire and Aversion 237 

§7. Of Jov and Sadness 241 

§8. Of Hope and Despair 249 

§9. Of Fear, Courage and Anger 251 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Chapter XVI.— Of the Mortification of Self- ) OK ~ 

love / J57 

§1. How Pernicious Self-love is 258 

§2. Of the Acts and Excesses of Self-love 262 

§3. Of Kegulating the Love of Life and Health 264 

§4, Of the Government of Love Towards Kinsmen, \ 9Rft 

Friends and Country / ^ bb 

§5. Of Governing Self-love in all Created Goods 269 

Chapter XVII. — Of Mortifying the Powers of 1 o 7 o 

the Rational Soul , / u 

§1. Of Abnegation of the Understanding and Memory. 273 

§2. Of the Government of the Judgment in Keal 1 276 

Transactions j 

§3. That it Behooves to Judge no One Rashly 279 

§4. Of Mortification of Self-will 282 

§5. Of Twelve Mortifications, by Which the Soul is 1 

Perfectly Purified, and is Prepared for a J- 285 

Happy Union With God J 



Part Second.— OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 

Chapter I. — General Instructions 291 

§1. That a Proficient Ought to Apply Himself to \ 9Q1 

Perfection With the Utmost Zeal J ^ yi 

§2. What the Actions of a Proficient Ought to be ... . 293 

§3. Of Right Intention 296 

§4. Of the Signs of a Right Intention. 300 

§5. Of Bodily and Interior Solitude 302 

Chapter II.— Of Zeal of Acquiring Virtues 306 

§1. What and How Manifold Virtue is 306 

§2. Of the Degrees of Virtues 308 

§3. Of Some General Measures and Directions \ «ia 

Necessary to Acquire Virtues J 

§4. Of the Divine Grace, Through Which Virtues S o-ia 

are Acquired / 

§5. Of Perseverance in the Pursuit of Virtues 316 

§6. Of the General Marks of Virtue Acquired 318 

§7. Of the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost, and 1 o 2 q 

of the Beatitudes J 

Chapter III.— Of Faith 324 

§1. Of the Motives and Acts of Faith 325 

§2. Of Occasions of Exercising Faith, and of its 1 qoo 

Marks / 

§3. Of the Effects of Faith 331 



CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE. 

Chapter IV.— Of Hope 335 

§1. Of the Actions, Occasions and Marks of Hope. . . 336 

§2. Of Placing Confidence in God Alone 338 

§3. In What Manner We Ought to Depend on Divine ] 

Providence, so as to Place Confidence in God >- 340 

Alone J 

Chapter V. — Of Charity «. 342 

§1. Of Charity Towards God ,343 

§2. Of the Acts of Charity Towards God 34,~ 

§3. Of Occasions of Exercising Charity Towards 1 045 

God, and of its Symptoms J 

§4. Of Charity Towards Our Neighbor 34S 

§5. Of the Occasions and Marks of Charity Towards ) o-q 

Our Neighbor / 

§6. Of Zeal for the Salvation of Souls . .. 353 

§7. Of the Effects of Charity 356 

Chapter VI.— Of Prudence 359 

§1. Of the Parts of Prudence 359 

§2. Of the Acts of Prudence 362 

§3. Of Election 365 

§4. Of the Matter and Manner of Election 368 

§5. Of the Principles, Occasions and Marks of Pru- \ Q71 
dence / 67L 

Chapter VII.— Of Justice 373 

§1. Of the Parts and Actions of Justice 374 

§2. Of Religion 376 

§3. Of Devotion 378 

§4. OfPraver 3S0 

§5. Of Penance 382 

§6. Of Piety and Reverence 383 

§7. OfObedience 386 

§8. Of Gratitude 388 

§9. Of Truth, Simplicity and Fidelity 391 

§10. Of Friendship and Courteousness 393 

§11. *Of Some General Directions Appertaining to) o 97 

Friendship and Courteousness / 

§12. Of Generosity, Vindication and Epikeia 400 

Chapter VIII.— Of Fortitude 404 

§1. Of the Actions, Occasions and Marks of Fortitude. 404 
§2. Of Magnanimity, to Which Are Annexed ConfiO ,~ fi 

dence and Security j 

§3. Of Magnificence 410 

§4. Of Patience, and Longanimity and Equanimity \ ,-.., 

Allied Therewith J 411 

§5. Of Constancy and Perseverance 414 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Chapter IX. — Of Temperance 416 

§1. Of the Parts and Action of Temperance 417 

§2. Of Shame amd Decency 418 

§3, Of Abstinence and Sobriety 420 

§4. Of Chastity, Virginity and Purity 422 

§5. Of Continence, Meekness and Clemency 423 

§6. Of Modesty, Entrapelia and Studiousness 424 

§7. Of Humility 427 

§8. Of Knowledge of Self, Which is the Foundation \ A0Q 

of Humility.... / 4 ^ y 

§9. Of Self-knowledge Through Comparison of \ 4 o« 

Other Things. ., . J * oz 

§10. Of Actions of Humility 435 

§11. Of Occasions of Exercising Humilicv 437 

§12. Of the Signs and Effects of Humility 439 



Part Third.— OF THE UJSTIT1VE WAY. 

Chapter I. — Of the Proximate Disposition For \ ^q 

Perfection ( f 

§1. Of Perfect Abnegation, Which Proximately) 444 

Disposes the Soul For Perfection ". J 

§2. Of the Divine Presence 449 

§3. Of Conformity oi the Human Will With the Divine 452 

Chapter II. — Of Contemplation 457 

§1. What Contemplation is 458 

§2. How Manifold Contemplation is, What its Ob- \ 4ftl 

ject, What its Effects and End J 4D1 

§3. Of the Degrees of Contemplation 465 

Chapter III. — Of the Love of God 475 

§1 . Of the Nature of Divine Love 475 

§2. What May Incite Us to Divine Love 478 

§3. Of the Fourfold State of Those Loving God 483 

§4. Of the Qualities and Effects of Divine Love. 486 

Chapter IV.— Of the Soul's Union With God... 489 

§1. What the Union of the Soul With God is 490 

§2. Of Things Which Retard and Impede T Tnion.... 493 

§3. Of the Impediments of Union — continued 495 

§4. Of the Preparations and Dispositions TTecessary > ^gg 

for Union J 

§5. Of the State of Union 502 

§6. Of tho Effects of Union 505 

§7. Of Daily Renewal of Union 507 



A TREATISE 



OF 



SPIRITUAL LIFE 



RART FIRST. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 



Chapter I. — Or the State of Begixxers. 

The summit of charity, that is, the highest 
point of christian perfection, is reached only by 
degrees; for the movement and endeavor of the 
human will towards perfection, as towards all 
other things, do not suddenly attain their ut- 
most limits. Charity is begotten by the opera- 
tion of divine mercy, after birth it is nursed, 
grows and gains strength, and is at length made 
perfect. Hence theologians following Denis the 
Areopagite, from the offices of angels, whose 
hierarchical acts are to purify, illuminate and 
perfect, commonly assign a threefold state of 
spiritual life: that of beginners, that of pro- 
ficients and that of the perfect, of whom the 

11 



12 PABT PtBSf 

first class are purified, th* second enligf £ened 
and the last made perfect In this boob I fol- 
low that order. For J jad man first through 
the purgative, next thr xgh the illuminative way, 
that when the coursi of the unitive way is at 
length completed, attached to God intimately 
and without stain ha may enjoy the wished-for 
quiet of mind on the lofty mountain top, on the 
highest pinnacle cf perfection. 



§1. — Of the Si/iner's Wretched State Be/ore 
Conversion. 

1. No language can describe the sinner's de- 
plorable and utterly detestable condition. Let 
us imagine Lie figure of a man whose head and 
feet have exchanged places, whose every member 
is distorted and displaced by a monstrous per- 
versity, who is blind, deaf and dumb, and en- 
tirely disorganized with paralysis. What more 
vile and hideous, than he, can be conceived? But 
much greater is the deformity of a soul polluted 
with the most foul stain of sin. For, abandon- 
ing reason it lives after the manner of beasts, 
and is so puffed up with pride, that with the ut- 
most effrontery it blushes not to insult its stern 
judge to his very face. It contemptuously abuses 
God's benefits, turning the Creator's gifts into 
hostile weapons. So great is the malice of sin 
that in itself it contains all kinds of evils. Pov- 
erty is an evil; but mortal sin despoils the soul 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 13 

of supernatural riches and the priceless treasure 
of divine grace. Pain is an evil; but what pain 
greater than that of sin, which dissolves the 
union of God and the soul, and rends the very 
bowels by the tortures of a gnawing conscience ? 
Slavery is an evil ; but the sinner serves as many 
masters as he has vices and depraved affections, 
and makes himself the slave of the most cruel 
tyrant, the devil. Disease is an evil; but sin is 
the greatest infirmity, curable by no power of 
nature, but by God's mercy alone. Death is an 
evil; but sin separates from God, severs from 
grace, which is the soul's life, and miserably 
kills the soul itself. In a word, all the evils of 
pain, all the calamities of this life are the bane- 
ful offspring of sin ; for says the Lord ( 1 Kings, 
ii, 30) : "They that despise me shall be despised ; " 
and (Ps. lxxii,27): "Thou hast destroyed all 
them that are disloyal to thee;" and, in fine, "no 
adversity shall hurt if no iniquity gains control." 
2. The foulness and malignity of sin are 
heightened on other accounts also. For, setting 
aside the supreme good, it alienates man from 
God, and placing happiness in transitory things, 
which is a sort of idolatry, declares war on the 
Supreme Ruler, which is shameful rebellion and 
violation of majesty; as far as in it lies it hor- 
ribly strikes the most loving father of all, which 
is a very heinous kind of parricide; it violates 
the most faithful spouse's immaculate bed, which 



14 PABT FIB ST. 

has the malice of sacrilegious adultery ; it out- 
rages the angels and saints, whose guardianship 
and protection it renders futile; it excites the 
tears of holy church, which bewails the loss of a 
son and laments the scandal of others; it adds 
to the torments of the damned, whose punish- 
ment is increased by the multitude of companions ; 
it wrongs all creatures, which to the contempt 
and injury of their common Lord it forces into 
its unlawful service. But sin itself is an evil so 
grievous, that if all the punishments of hell were 
set on one side and only one mortal sin on the 
other, all the torments of the abyss, supposing 
no fault, should be chosen rather than the single 
stain of sin. Wheresoever this horrible monster 
forces its way, it confounds, overturns and de- 
stroys all things; it vitiates man's natural facul- 
ties, obscures his intelligence, darkens his will, 
subjects his reason to sense, and leaves in him 
nothing but a crowd of contending passions and 
the densest chaos; it extinguishes merits, robs 
of virtues, deprives of the fruit of the sacra- 
ments, takes away spiritual helps, carries off 
the right to eternal life, and renders the sinner 
liable to everlasting punishment, which is two- 
fold, perpetual privation of the beatific vision 
and never-ending torture of fire the most intense. 
Such then is man's condition before he reforms 
and turns to God, before he begins to tread the 
way to heaven under the influence of divine 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 15 

grace. But the process of this conversion must 
be briefly described. 



§2. — Of the Order, Manner and Signs of 
Conversion. 

1. For true conversion is required, first, a 
knowledge of past guilt, so that the sinner 
moved by God's grace may realize the filthiness 
and cruel tyranny of his crimes. Next, a great 
fear is to be conceived on account of the severity 
of divine justice, on account of our own frailty, 
the uncertainty of life, the strictness of the last 
judgment, the severity of punishments, the loss 
of heavenly joys, the most bitter privation of 
the beatific vision, and the offence of a most 
loving Father and generous Benefactor. The 
soul struck with this fear will burst into tears, 
at least of the spirit, and as the Lord knocks at 
the heart will be affected with inmost grief and 
detest its sins from love of God alone; then lest 
it despair, it will be sustained by the surest hope 
— that hope which raises the sinner's mind, awe- 
stricken and covered with the darkness of con- 
fusion, to the consideration of the bowels of 
divine mercy, rescuing him from the danger of 
despair, into which he would rush headlong if 
suffered to be agitated by excessive fear. Next 
comes an efficacious resolution of amendment, 
and sacramental confession, the second plank 
after shipwreck, accompanied by satisfaction 



16 PART FIB ST. 

through works of penance, to which are also 
added confidence in' Christ and fear of the fu- 
ture Judge, hope in his blood, and grief and 
sorrow for having cruelly crucified in ourselves 
the Son of God, finally love of so good a Re- 
deemer, and an ardent desire of obeying him in 
all things, of following his footsteps and em- 
bracing his Cross without any concern for the 
world and the flesh. 

2. Any one attaining this stage of conversion 
will easily persuade himself that he is dear and 
acceptable to God; still he will not be quite cer- 
tain of this, because it is ordained by the Lord 
that it should remain hidden, in order that men, 
however upright and holy, may be kept in con- 
tinual vigilance and humility, for it is written 
(Prov. xxviii, 14): "Blessed is the man who is 
always fearful," and elsewhere (Ps. ii, 11): 
"Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto 
him with trembling." But if there be room for 
conjectures in a subject so difficult, there are not 
wanting for the consolation of penitents certain 
signs and indications of true conversion, from 
which each one may infer in what state he is, 
and as it were probe himself to some extent. 
Thus, if any one perceive in himself an affection 
like that of David, by which he said (cxviii, 
163) : "I have hated and abhorred iniquity;" if 
he lift up the body from earthly pleasures, so 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 17 

that the soul is no longer carried away by irreg- 
ular desires, but rather rules the body and takes 
it whither it would not; if he detest all iniquity 
as well in himself as in others, saying with the 
Prophet (Ibid. 158): "I beheld the transgres- 
sors, and I pined away ; ' ' if forgetting the things 
that are behind, he stretch forth himself to those 
that are before, with a desire and resolution of 
advancing. It also points to true conversion, 
after reconciliation with God and sacramental 
satisfaction, to persevere in the practice of pen- 
ance for the remainder of life, both because of 
the continual recurrence of venial sins that besets 
us, and that we may lessen the penalty due to 
mortal sins already forgiven, and finally to con- 
quer the frowardness of the senses and flesh, 
that they may not drag the soul with them to 
perdition. But the works of penance are as fol- 
lows: to lie on sackcloth and ashes, to scourge 
the body, to humble the soul with grief, to nur- 
ture prayer by fasting, to sob, to weep, and 
night and day to cry aloud to God, to pros- 
trate before the priests and religious, and solicit 
the prayers of all the brethren in one's be- 
half. "The Prison of Penitents," written by 
Saint John Climachus, also the strictness of 
the ancient Canons, and the rigor of the early 
Church towards sinners confirm what I here ad- 
vance. 

(2— Spir. Life.) 



18 PABT FIBST. 

§ 3.— -Of Bringing Forth Fruits Worthy of 
Penance. 

1. A sinner's conversion to God is the work 
of divine grace, which interiorly strikes and 
moves man to enter into himself and be perfectly 
restored to his Creator. This grace does, by 
terrifying with dangers, inciting with miracles, 
giving understanding, inspiring counsel, enlight- 
ening the heart itself and imbuing it with senti- 
ments of faith. But he, who prevented by divine 
mercy, and fortified by the splendor of heavenly 
grace, shall have detested and duly confessed his 
sins to the priest, ought to hear the voice of one 
crying in the desert and saying (Luke iii, 8) : 
' 'Bring forth fruits worthy of penance." Past 
faults demand that the sinner bring forth fruits 
worthy of penance, that he recount all his years 
in the bitterness of his soul, that he always grieve 
and rejoice in the sorrow, and say with the 
Prophet (Ps. 1, 5): "My sin is always before 
me." And this is indeed the first fruit of pen- 
ance, namely, habitual sorrow or the habit of 
grieving for sins, so that at the mere perception 
of anything bad, whether in reading, conversing, 
or by any other means or way, it at once produce 
displeasure and sorrow, in such manner that at 
the sole thought of even a lighter fault all the 
faculties of the soul are shocked and horrified. 
This fruit is most precious and far-reaching, and 
by it the devil's approach is cut off, and numer- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 19 

ous acts of great merit are elicited; whereas, on 
the contrary he, who is not thus affected, but 
perceives a not unwelcome feeling stealthily glide 
over him when the image of sin is presented, 
ought to judge that he has not yet a fully purified 
mind, and that in it are still preserved, as in a 
lurking place, some seeds and relics of sin. 

2. The second fruit of penance is the contin- 
ual remembrance of sins, which gives a clear 
view of the violence and enormity of the injuiy, 
whereby man has provoked God; begets shame 
and confusion, convincing of crime committed 
against God, the best of fathers; excites and 
fosters love towards the same Creator and most 
merciful Redeemer, who has with such lavish 
bounty forgiven us a debt of so many transgres- 
sions. But this same fruit is very profitable to 
man, not only for a while after conversion, but 
even for a long time afterwards, according to the 
Apostle Paul's example, who often mentions his 
sins, committed through ignorance and already 
remitted, always mindful of them for the pre- 
servation of humility. But those sins that in- 
volve danger of evil delectation ought to be re- 
called to mind only for the purpose of confession ; 
for the imperfect can scarcely reflect on these 
without their mind contracting some stain. 

3. The third fruit is satisfaction, and that 
twofold: one, that some penalty unwelcome to 
the body may be undergone, the other more 



20 PABT FIB ST. 

excellent, that we may cultivate those virtues 
which we have heretofore violated; so that 
wherein we have the more displeased God, we 
may the more honor him thenceforth. 

4. The fourth is compunction and weeping 
resulting from sorrow and love. But this fruit 
should be very great. For if all the tears that 
any mortals ever shed for the loss of dearest 
things, or for any other cause whatever, were 
united, and besides to these were added all the 
mournings of the saints, all the sighs of peni- 
tents ; yea, if a person could pour forth such a 
quantity of tears, as would exceed the waters of 
all springs and rivers, and of the immense ocean 
itself, they would be inadequate duly to grieve 
for one mortal sin. For nothing finite is com- 
mensurate with an infinite God. Therefore, our 
unworthy and diminutive tears, be they what 
they may, must be mingled with the abundant 
and most precious streams that flowed from the 
eyes of the Blessed Virgin and the other saints; 
then they are to be offered to Christ our Lord, 
that he may present them to his Father with his 
own, which are of infinite value, since it is from 
his that ours borrow their virtue, and by their 
efficacy our sins are blotted out. 

5. The fifth is fear and circumspection lest 
we sin again. For we have known many stronger 
than we who returned to the vomit, and we our- 
selves have often inadvertently wallowed in the 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 21 

same mire. Our chief hope indeed is to be placed 
in the protection of divine grace, but we must not, 
therefore, cease to be vigilant, because neither 
have we changed our nature nor are the germs 
of evil cut out. 

6. The sixth is solicitude and watchfulness in 
avoiding occasions of sin, and in shunning the 
friendship and intercourse of those who have 
drawn us into sin, for (Eccl. iii, 27): "He that 
loveth danger shall perish in it." 

7. The seventh is diligent care in plucking up 
the roots of sins. Husbandmen, to clear their 
fields, not content to mow down noxious weeds, 
endeavor thoroughly to tear up their roots also, 
lest they sprout again. We must do the same. 
For after our sins are blotted out, their roots 
still remain in us; namely, ignorance, covetous- 
ness, concupiscence, self-love, attachment to our 
own judgment, self-will, evil inclinations, bad 
habits, sinful customs, numerous allurements to 
sin, agitations, objects of the senses, inconstancy, 
negligence and human respect. With these are 
linked many provocations to evil from creatures, 
the more acute temptations of demons, and the 
examples and evil counsels of wicked men. God 
himself sometimes withdraws interior consola- 
tions and sensible joy of heart, and suffers us to 
be affected with troubles, annoyed with scruples 
and racked with desolation, that he may display 
in us the richness of his goodness, that our 



22 PABT FIBST. 

merits may increase and our crown be doubled, 
and an opportunity be afforded us of exercising 
virtue, which languishes without an adversary 
and droops without culture. But though our 
sins are forgiven and grace infused, we are still 
infirm and weak, like those recovering from 
violent fever; still we know that our Redeemer 
is most benign, and will make with temptation 
issue, that we may be able to bear it. There- 
fore our courage must be roused for the con- 
test, a prudent use made of earthly things, 
resistance offered to the demons, all that allures 
the senses magnanimously controlled, and all the 
roots of evil plucked up with the hoe of consid- 
eration. 

' 8. The eighth is a most lowly opinion and 
contempt of self, so that each consider himself 
as a loathsome carcass, and be not" anxious for 
his own praises, comforts, reputation, sleep, food, 
drink and attendance. For~Jie, who seriouslv 
reflects that he has offended the divine majesty, 
is vile in his own eyes, and he, who esteems him- 
self vile, treats himself even with negligence, 
and desires to be despised and held of no account 
by others also. 

9. The ninth is suavity and gentleness of 
manners, that one show himself meek and agree- 
able towards his brethren, docile and obedient to 
his superiors, and allow himself to be fashioned, 
and inclined in every direction, that, as he 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 23 

spurned the divine law, he refuse not, for its 
sake, to be subject to all. 

10. The tenth is a firm resolution of amend- 
ment and eagerness to improve; for he is per- 
fectly converted, who, regretting what he has 
done amiss, no more repeats what he may again 
regret. 

11. The eleventh is zeal for souls, that the 
sinner may thenceforth edify the neighbor whom 
he had offended, as the already penitent David 
said (Ps. 1, 15): "I will teach the unjust thy 
ways." 

12. Finally, the twelfth fruit is the love of 
God, that is, perfect conversion to God and aver- 
sion from all sin. For a great love of God ab- 
sorbs all a man's sins, and he who ever glows and 
burns with the fire of charity, always lives with- 
out sin. These are the twelve fruits, which true 
penance, like the tree of life that was planted in 
the midst of Paradise, brings forth and offers; 
which if a penitent wish to gather and cease not 
to relish, nourished thereby, he shall grow into 
a perfect man, receiving a daily increase of 
christian, perfection. 



§4. — In WTiat Order Beginners are to Pro- 
ceed in the SouVs Purgation. 
1. It is not so very easy to lay down rules of 
life in a holy and perfect manner, as most per- 
sons depart all the farther from true sanctity 



24 PABT FIBST. 

and perfection, the more eagerly they are im- 
pelled towards them. This is what involves us 
in great evils, that we indeed desire to live holily, 
but to see what holiness is and how it may be 
attained, we are nearly all blind, wandering from 
the right way through various windings. For as 
we can in no way learn human arts without some 
fixed rules and principles, by which they are di- 
rected to their proper ends ; so neither can we 
master the science of Christian perfection, as 
long as we wander about in devious ways with- 
out a reliable system and method, spending life 
as if in play. Accordingly, we must first deter- 
mine what it is we aspire to and what we aim at; 
then we must examine by what way we can the 
sooner attain that good, waiting to be enlight- 
ened during the journey regarding our daily 
progress. Now we are aiming at perfection, at 
purity of heart, at the highest degree of charity, 
at intimate union with God. But we cannot 
reach this goal unless the soul be purified, and 
by various ornaments rendered fit for the holy 
union of the Word, which ought to be done in 
the following order. 

2. In the first place, we ought to be purified 
from all offences by a general expiation, then 
divested of all affection for sins, lest while in the 
desert in body we be in spirit in Egypt, longing 
for its flesh-pots. There are some who have 
quitted unlawful intrigues, some who have made 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 25 

peace with the enemy ; yet they still take com- 
placence in female beauty, still confound all 
things by their murmurs, and lend a willing ear 
to improper conversations. These miserably de- 
ceive themselves, and labor to no purpose; for 
solid conversion and complete turning away from 
sin are necessary. Nor is it enough to abstain 
from those only that bring death to the soul, but 
from venial sins likewise. For Catholic faith 
teaches that a man cannot avoid every lighter 
fault without the special and exceptional protec- 
tion of divine grace; we can, however, and ought 
by all means detest every, even the slightest 
stain, so that we should desire to die, rather than 
sin venially though but once. In the next place 
we must be very cautious not to contract affec- 
tions for useless and superfluous things, for 
games and discourses, for jokes and buffoonery 
and unnecessary recreations, for fine garments 
and worldly manners. Finally, by contrary use 
and affection are to be corrected certain natural 
tendencies that are wont to spring inculpably 
from nature; for some there are prone to anger, 
others to pride; some of a gentle and easy dis- 
position, others reserved and morose. These 
should be thoroughly rectified. Wild beasts are 
tamed by long habit, and in some sense assume 
another nature ; shall not men endowed with free 
will, and aided by the protection of heavenly 
grace, do the same? The soul thus cleansed of 



26 TART FIB ST. 

all filthiness ought to be adorned with virtues, 
whereby it may be rendered worthy of higher 
divine communication, and fit for heavenly nup- 
tials. 

3. But the whole essence of purgation con- 
sists in certain laws and prescriptions, which 
each one imposes on himself, that by them, as 
by model and rule, he may adjust and shape all 
the actions of his life, and his entire self accord- 
ing to God's will. These laws arise from the 
following heads: from the precept of charity, 
which the Holy Ghost is wont to print on the 
heart; from the end of one's own institute; 
from the laws and particular features of each of- 
fice and service; from each one's own prudence, 
illuminated by the light of divine grace ; from 
the counsels and guidance of superiors and spir- 
itual fathers. By these heads, as by a touch- 
stone, all that regards the modeling of life must 
be examined, and fashioned accordingly. But 
purgation itself must be carried to such a degree 
that vicious habits may be completely eradicated ; 
evil propensities and immoderate desires, since 
they cannot be entirely plucked up, kept under 
reason's control; temptations resisted; external 
occasions, whether from society, or place, or 
duties and occupations, cut off, if possible, or at 
least the mind fortified against them by various 
wholesome devices ; certain political maxims, not 
quite in harmony with christian simplicity, elim- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 27 

inated; a bridle put on the tongue, and senses; 
the use of those things that gratify the body 
confined to moderation, as discretion may dictate ; 
the body itself chastised and exercised with fast- 
ing, hair-cloth, lashes and other penances, accord- 
ing to the strength of each. And in this way 
there shall be nothing that can escape our ob- 
servation, nothing that we may not do justly and 
prudently, as becomes man possessed of reason 
and susceptible of unlimited good. 



§5. — Of Venial Sin, and its Losses and Rem- 
edies, and of Some Occult Sins. 
1. "He that contemneth small things shall 
fall by little and little" (Eccl. xix, 1), is the dec- 
laration of the Holy Ghost. For great and man- 
ifest sins are the less dangerous to the just, be- 
cause they are horrified at their very sight, of it- 
self sufficiently monstrous and abominable, but 
very trivial sins, because they are trivial, are usu- 
ally ignored, and gradually dispose to others 
more grave. These resemble certain minor ail- 
ments, that do not indeed destroy life, but so di- 
minish strength, that a man immediately suc- 
cumbs when attacked by serious illness. They 
are as it were light showers, which, if neglected, 
rot the beams of a house and slowly prepare its 
fall. They are as diminutive beasts gnawing 
some tree, whose incessant bites cause it to bear 
no fruit. Therefore, in vices and imperfections 



28 PABT FIB ST. 

nothing should be considered of little import- 
ance; for every fault, no matter how slight, of- 
fends the divine majesty — an injury so grievous, 
that it should be reckoned of more consequence 
than the salvation, even for eternity, of all man- 
kind, though all men's salvation were depending 
on it. The stain also of this fault is very filthy, 
and dims the beauty of divine grace. Again, 
these sins hinder infused virtues from developing 
into brilliant actions; allow them to operate only 
remissly and feebly, so that supernatural habits 
cannot grow; diminish the sacraments' efficacy; 
make the mind callous and slow in admitting di- 
vine lights, holy inspirations and salutary warn- 
ings; disturb peace of conscience; weaken the 
power to resist the devil ; and after this life are 
punished in purgatory with very severe torments. 
Nor is it a trifling thing to despise trifles, which, 
so much the more shamefully as they could have 
been more easily avoided, inflict on morals a blot 
by no means trifling. Add to these, that he, 
who becomes familiarized with slight transgres- 
sions, renders himself unworthy of God's spe- 
cial aids, which are usually granted only to the 
fervent and diligent, nor is he hurtful to him- 
self alone, but to the entire family and to re- 
ligion, since these defects, approved by daily 
custom and defended with absurd excuses, pass 
into a sort of law, and by degrees overturn 
and destroy religious discipline. Nor is it to be 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 29 

thought that spiritual men, whom we have some- 
times seen go headlong into very heinous crimes, 
went down by a sudden fall, for no one becomes 
at once very wicked ; but advancing slowly from 
lighter to graver, at length they impudently com- 
mitted most grievous sins. 

2. Now, three kinds of venial sins are to be 
distinguished for avoidance. The first consists 
of those that are gravest within venial limits ; 
namely, those that of their nature would be mor- 
tal, but become venial from defect of full and 
deliberate consent, or from parvity of matter. 
Of this kind are reputed an unchaste thought, 
and desire of revenge, to which we offer resist- 
ance with remissness, but do not give full con- 
sent; detraction of our neighbor in a matter of 
no great moment, and the taking away something 
of little value. The second kind embraces those 
which of their nature are venial, but are com- 
mitted knowingly, on purpose and maliciously. 
To this kind belong officious lies, idle words, 
buffooneries, curiosity, and countless others, into 
which we very often fall. The third kind is the 
lightest, which human frailty, though with a 
good will to live perfectty, often commits. Of 
this kind are slight distraction in prayer, caused 
by the natural instability of the human mind ; an 
emotion of vanity, which has insinuated itself 
from our good works or others' commendations; 
an affection of vain complacence, which self-love 



30 TAB T FIB ST. 

has awaked in us on account of divine favors; 
some indiscreet fervor, immoderate zeal, exces- 
sive mildness, and others without number that 
entirely surpass our ignorance. But there is a 
difference between venial sins committed through 
malice and those committed through frailty. 
They sin through malice, who have not put away 
affection for venial sins, and seek occasions of 
gratification in them. They sin through frailty, 
who alone and of their own accord desire noth- 
ing sinful, but quickly fall under temptation, 
after the fall, however, readily recover, as all that 
removes from God is displeasing to them. These 
latter sins are very easily remitted, the former 
never, although they may have been repeatedly 
exposed in confession, unless affection for them 
be eradicated from the heart, no progress being 
possible while that exists. Sins of the first class 
are compared by the Apostle to wood, those of 
the second are likened to hay, and those of the 
last to stubble, because the first shall remain 
longer in the fire of Purgatory, the seeond shall 
be more speedily atoned for, and the third shall 
be consumed like stubble with a lighter scorch. 
The two first ought to be more carefully shunned, 
because they are a greater hindrance to our pro- 
gress. And though without God's special aid 
we cannot be entirely exempt from the last, we 
can, however, with his help, avoid each of ther*> 
singly by watchful care. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 31 

3. Being; now cognizant of the offensiveness 
and malice of venial sins, the remedies are to be 
sought, by help of which we may wash away 
such stains of soul. But there are two kinds of 
remedies, one for cleansing the impurities already 
contracted, and the other for guarding against 
the like in future. Those committed are removed 
by confession, contrition and satisfaction ; and 
also by certain sacramentals, such as the asper- 
sion of holy water, a general confession, the 
Lord's prayer, episcopal blessing, and others of 
the same species. But to avoid those we are 
liable to commit, the following remedies are to 
be applied. It is requisite, daily to examine 
closely the conscience's hidden depths; to chas- 
tise every slightest fault by the rigid application 
of penance, and often call to mind the losses that 
follow from them, and by a fresh resolution to 
renew daily the struggle with them. Besides, it 
is to be borne in mind that perfect men lamented 
and punished every slight fault of theirs as most 
grievous ; for while very small offences are care- 
fully avoided, we can scarcely lapse into the more 
heinous. Finally, an efficacious remedy against 
every fault, however light, will be in all things 
carefully to take heed, whether what one does is 
right, whether it tends to some good end, 
whether it be in conformity with one's state and 
profession, and be done in proper time and place, 
and with other due conditions. 



32 PABT FIEST. 

4. Certain occult sins, into which men fre- 
quently fall, and for which, through ignorance 
and inadvertence, they have no sorrow, and do 
not confess, as in duty bound, are also to be sub- 
jected to the test of close consideration, and 
assiduously guarded against. Such are the fol- 
lowing: negligence in learning and fulfilling the 
obligations of each one's state and calling; care- 
lessness of parents, masters and superiors in 
educating and properly instructing their children, 
servants and subjects, by seeing that they learn 
all that is necessary for salvation; the evil cus- 
tom of swearing, whence often arises perjury, 
that is through inadvertence omitted in confes- 
sion ; flattery of princes and prelates, by approv- 
ing their evil or less upright acts and designs ; 
partiality towards friends, by being instrumental 
in obtaining dignities for the less worthy; the 
omission of alms-giving when obligatory ; laying 
out in idle and superfluous things money that 
has been given man to expend in works of char- 
ity; not preventing, when possible, the sins of 
others, not correcting them, not reporting them 
to superiors, when we are bound thereto by jus- 
tice or charity ; delaying without real necessity 
the payment of debts, especially those of long 
standing; distributing common goods with re- 
spect of persons ; aiding and furthering uncertain 
causes without carefully investigating their jus- 
tice; overcoming in gaming, or purchasing from 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 33 

children or others, who have no power to alienate ; 
also in gambling to waste and squander time and 
money beyond the dictate of right reason, to the 
detriment of the family and poor; assisting at 
plays and dances and indecent shows, with danger 
of sinning mortally ; not referring to God with 
humble thanksgiving all spiritual consolations 
and graces, which is a species of robbery; a cer- 
tain secret pride, by which one holds himself in 
high esteem; conceit and obstinacy in one's own 
way of thinking; excessive confidence in one's 
own powers ; rash scrutiny of the divine works 
and judgments; wishing to be unduly preferred 
to others ; cloaked ambition of honors and dig- 
nities; indiscreetly undertaking penances and 
bodily mortifications of one's own accord against 
the spiritual father's advice; affecting singularity 
in all things, that it may be manifest before men, 
and be a marvel to the people. The most effec- 
tual remedy of all these sins, and similar others, 
is frequent and careful examination of conscience, 
sincere prayer, and the wise counsel of a per- 
manent confessor. 



§6. — Of Spiritual Training and Direction. 
1. Nothing is more necessary for one begin- 
ning to serve God than to allow himself to be 
governed and instructed by a spiritual master 
after the manner of a child learning the first 
rudiments. The Scripture shows that this is 
(3— Spir. Life.) 



34 PART FIB ST. 

conformable to the divine will, when it says 
(Deut. xxxii, 7): "Ask thy father, and he will 
declare to thee: thy elders, and they will tell 
thee." The practice and custom in every well 
ordered religious Institute evince the same; and 
it can be seen among historians that the ardor of 
first fervor in Eegular Orders lasted as long as 
this wholesome . system of concealing nothing 
whatever from spiritual fathers, and confiding in 
them in all things was retained and promoted. 
And the very nature of exigency clearly proves 
that; for who undertakes an unknown journey 
without a guide? Who learns a most difficult 
art without a teacher? The many advantages of 
this instruction are also to be reckoned : for a 
master's prudence determines the just medium 
of virtue for our actions, lest walking or running 
more or less than may be necessary we faint in 
the way, or while delaying fall asleep. Again, 
by this manifestation satan's wiles are counter- 
acted and eluded, and great restraint is placed on 
those likely to err, when we have to disclose all 
our actions to a spiritual father. Finally, this 
very submission, by which man subjects himself 
to man for God's sake, is highly meritorious in 
his sight; especially since divine Providence has 
bound all things together in such connection, 
that some are superior, in order to govern, and 
others inferior, to be governed , Those who rule 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 35 

are the interpreters of the divine will, and he 
who resists the power resists God. 

2. Every person should be convinced of this 
truth, that no one is endowed with such pru- 
dence and wisdom as to suffice for himself in 
the guidance of spiritual life; for self-love, 
which is a blind guide, deceives many; then the 
light of our judgment is feeble, nor can we fore- 
see all, whether dangers or snares and errors, to 
which we are liable in the way of the spirit, 
which most powerful and crafty enemies beset — 
the devil, the world and the flesh, whose deceits 
and wiles God points out to us through those 
whom he has placed in the higher watch-tower 
for our guardianship and government. Thus a 
man can more readily and easily reach the sum- 
mit of perfection if he follow a faithful precep- 
tor, whose authority he obeys in all his acts, 
small and great, than if he try without a master 
to perfect himself, though he may be gifted with 
very extraordinary intellectual penetration, and 
possess most accurately written treatises on what 
appertains to spiritual life. Now, if we are all 
infirm, do we not need a physician, to whom we 
may disclose our wounds and ailments, and from 
whom we may receive a remedy? If we are un- 
skilled soldiers, and our wrestling is against the 
spirits of wickedness, why do we join battle 
without the protection of an experienced general 



36 PABT FIB ST. 

to indicate dangers, detect insidious plans, and 
point the way to victory in the doubtful contest? 
This is the royal and safest road, by which all 
the saints gained the highest pitch of virtue. 
Moses, who spoke with God face to face, fol- 
lowed the advice of his father-in-law. Paul, the 
doctor of the gentiles, converted by Christ him- 
self, was sent to Ananias, that from him he 
might learn the way of life. So all the saints 
have had their masters; nor is God ever men- 
tioned as having by himself alone taught any 
one, unless when all human teaching was en- 
tirely wanting. But we must take care not to 
have several spiritual directors, though each and 
every one of them be holy ; for since the spirit of 
divers men is different, each would deliver a dif- 
ferent doctrine, which would overwhelm and con- 
found the mind. But in the absence of a human 
teacher, the interior training of the Holy Ghost 
is to be sought by humble and constant prayer; 
silent teachers, that is, spiritual books, are also 
to be made use of, and what is more in harmony 
with the sacred Scriptures and the doctrine of the 
holy Fathers is to be embraced in all things. 



§7. — That it is Necessary to Make Known 
the WJiole Interior State of Soul to the Spir- 
itual Teacher; and of the Distinctive Marks of 
a Good and Bad Teacher. 

1. From what we have already said, the par- 
amount importance of manifesting our entire 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 37 

conscience and interior state of soul to our spir- 
itual Director is clearly established. For by this 
practice we overcome the devil, who, when he 
sees his wicked designs laid open, is disheartened 
and flies, hoping to bring them to the desired 
end as long as they remain concealed. Then our 
spiritual Fathers, if they have an intimate knowl- 
edge of our interiors, will shape their precepts 
and counsels suitably to our state and require- 
ment. He who does not open his heart to his 
spiritual Father closes it against God. And 
since spiritual Fathers preside over us in God's 
place, it is proper they should be able to view all 
the recesses of our breast, as God penetrates the 
innermost secrets of the heart; so that, if we 
happen to stray from the path of salvation, they 
may recall us to the right way, and we may thus 
more easily persevere in the career of piety we 
undertook, and make further progress. On that 
account the holy Fathers, especially monks, set 
such high value on this self-manifestation, that 
they placed in it the main help of spiritual ad- 
vancement. Now the following are to be re- 
vealed to the spiritual Father: all things good 
and ill; the former, that they may be safe and 
augment, the latter that they may be removed; 
also the roots and sources of the good, such as 
inspirations, heavenly lights, good resolutions 
conceived by God's inspiration; likewise the 
fruits of the good, as prayers, penances and 



38 PABT FIB ST. 

pious exercises. The roots and fruits of the evil 
should be revealed in the same way. The for- 
mer are unsubdued appetites, bad habits, evil 
propensities and temptations ; the latter are sins, 
which are to be mentioned so far as is requisite 
to explain our frailty and necessity. 

2. There are three things principally, when 
well considered, which deter from this manifes- 
tation of conscience. One is self-esteem and 
pride, by which a person, relying on himself and 
his own prudence and learning, disdains to ask or 
follow another's opinion. Another is false mod- 
esty and shame — a boyish vice, and clearly un- 
worthy of a man. The third is fear of another 
evil; that is lest one be deprived of some advan- 
tage or may not acquire some good, if a spiritual 
Father should divulge any particular mental pro- 
pensity. We must, therefore, fight courageously 
against these, and bear in mind, that on this 
revelation depends the extinction of self-love, 
and victory over ourselves, besides the dangers 
we avoid, and various other benefits we acquire. 

3. It will be useful here not only to note what 
the qualities of good spiritual teachers usually 
are, but also to mention and explain the charac- 
teristics of bad ones, that we may know by these 
tokens what teacher we ought to choose, if we 
lack in the matter either a superior's command 
or a prudent man's advice. A good teacher then 
is he who comprehends the inner features and 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 39 

entire state of the soul whose direction he has 
undertaken ; who, endowed with the gift of dis- 
cernment of spirits, understands the require- 
ments of his unhealthy pupil, and as far as pos- 
sible probes his depths and the secrets of his 
mind; who, free from all irregular affection, is 
intent only on spiritual gain ; who, skilled in dis- 
covering the beginnings, and as it were the seeds 
of human thoughts, knows how to distinguish 
between virtues and vices, discriminating all 
things with subtle scrutiny ; who knows how to 
devise remedies for warding off all diseases of 
mind; who, becoming all things to all men, com- 
passionates all, conforms to the manners of all, 
accommodates himself to the inclinations of all; 
who watches his opportunity in applying healing 
remedies ; who, assuming a mother's compassion, 
shows such patience, charity and mildness to his 
disciple, that he is not ashamed to disclose to 
him every secret: who in a spirit of gentleness 
instructs and wins over sinners, and so gains 
their good will, that they readily and gladly de- 
sire to unfold themselves to their teacher; who 
intimately united with God commends to him by 
frequent prayers the soul which he directs, and 
with ardent sighs asks of him a docile heart, that 
he may learn prudently to direct and govern ; 
who in fine has learned to know and avoid the 
deceits, wiles and stratagems of satan. 



40 PABT FIBST. 

4. But the false teacher on the other hand 
Will be manifest from these signs: if he turn 
everything to his own advantage; if he be in- 
quisitive, and attached to his own opinion ; if he 
desire to be honored, and held in high esteem ; 
if he prefer his own contrivances to the precepts 
and practice of the Church; if he be fond of 
bodily comfort ; if he detract other masters ; if 
he be impatient, indiscreet or turbulent; if he 
lead his disciples by extraordinary ways, that our 
fathers knew not; if he boast of numerous rev- 
elations ; if he be not grave, serious and modest ; 
if he be deficient in spiritual learning and pru- 
dence. A sign also of a bad master is, when any 
one comes to them anew, to change everything 
that another had well regulated, and to destroy 
the foundations laid by another, which treatment 
usually brings great detriment to souls. 



§8. — What the Spiritual Life is. 
1. All the efforts of beginners have chiefly 
for their aim, that they may pass from a carnal 
to a spiritual and divine mode of life ; wherefore, 
after laying the foundations of spiritual novice- 
ship, we must examine what is the spiritual life 
itself, which we have embraced, what are its im- 
pediments, what its helps and what its condition ; 
that, its nature being ascertained, we may hasten 
to adopt it and tread its paths with steady pace. 
But as that is said to be natural life, endowed 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 41 

with which an animal can determine itself to an 
act suited to its nature, so that life shall be called 
spiritual and holy, which, abiding within us, both 
makes us spiritual and is the principle of holy 
actions. And as that cause of vital actions has 
been given to creatures, so the other has been 
assigned to men for works of virtue. Therefore, 
a holy or spiritual life, as it consists in action, can 
be styled the perpetual exercise of good works 
and of all virtues, w r hereby serving God for his 
own sake, we may by advancing attain to that 
life of felicity for which we have been created. 

2. All men endeavor, though by different 
ways, to reach this goal of beatitude, namely 
that good which, when attained, leaves nothing 
beyond that can possibly be desired. This is the 
true and supreme good, to which the wishes of 
all aspire by a certain natural tendency ; but the 
generality of mankind, blinded on account of 
our first parent's sin, have studied to acquire 
false and deceitful goods. And some indeed, 
imagining it the highest good to want for nothing, 
endeavor to abound in riches; others, placing 
the highest good in supreme power, wish either 
themselves to reign, or be attached to rulers. 
But very many, who measure the fruit of the su- 
preme good by joy and gladness, think it the 
greatest felicity to overflow with pleasures. Thus 
wretched men, laboring for vain and seeming 
goods, while they seek true happiness outside 



42 BAB T FIB ST. 

God, only succeed in being ever unhappy both 
here and for eternity. For God made us on ac- 
count of himself and for himself, and our heart 
is restless until it repose in him. 

3. Since, therefore, we have been created for 
God, we ought to live a divine and spiritual life, 
which consists not in one or two works of virtue, 
but in perpetual continuance of good works, and 
constant and diligent exercise of all virtues. For 
neither shall we say, that a man addicted to 
vices, who says some prayers once a day, or 
sometimes observes the laws of fasting, or prac- 
tices some works of virtue from time to time, is 
spiritual; but we call him spiritual, who, aban- 
doning worldly actions and cares, has consecrated 
his whole life to good works. For this reason 
the spiritual life was typified of old by that spe- 
cies of sacrifice called a holocaust. For a holo- 
caust was not only all burned, but was also en- 
tirely consumed in God's honor. In like manner 
this life, through all its actions, burns with the 
fire of charity, and is offered in the odor of 
sweetness to God alone. 



§9. — Of the Marks of the Spiritual Life. 

1. Although in this exile we cannot know for 
certain that we are living a spiritual life, for "no 
one knows whether he be w r orthy of love or ha- 
tred;" still, certain marks have been assigned by 
the holy Fathers, from which each one can infer 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 43 

that he is spiritual, and belongs to God. The 
first of these is true contrition and effectual de- 
testation of past sins; when, for instance, the 
soil of our heart is watered with a copious shower 
of tears, and saturated with bitter weeping. For 
as water washes bodily uncleanness, so tears 
cleanse mental stains, and wipe away the filth of 
our iniquities. 

2. The second mark is a fixed and firm will of 
not committing any grievous sin, though a per- 
son dread the loss of his own life and of all 
things created. For every one that abides in 
Christ sins not, and has no desire of sinning. 

3. To have abstained for a long time from 
the perpetration of wrong, and not to have com- 
mitted grievous sin. For one sin leads to another, 
and he who sins not can believe with reason, 
that his former sins have been remitted. 

4. The observance of the divine law, as it is 
written (John, xiv, 23) : "If any one love me, he 
will keep my word, and my Father will love him . ' ' 

5. A certain heavenly light illuminating the 
minds of the just, by which they perceive the 
vanity of the world, contemplate divine mysteries, 
and easily observe what is to be done or omitted 
in every concern; for God's grace is a light, as 
the Psalmist says (Ps. xxxiii, 6) : "Come ye to 
him, and be enlightened." 

6. Charity, by which we most fervently love 
God, and our neighbors, especially enemies. 



44 PABT FIBST. 

(1 John, iv, 16) : "God is charity: and he that 
abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in 
him." 

7. Joy and exultation; not indeed that vain 
joy of whose end mourning taketh hold (Prov. 
xiv, 13); but true, solid, never-ending joy, which 
is a fruit of grace and an outcome of spiritual 
life. 

8. Peace surpassing all understanding, which 
quiets troubles and anxieties of conscience, re- 
presses the petulance of concupiscence, subjects 
the frowardness of the flesh to the spirit, and 
brings wonderful tranquility to the mind, evinc- 
ing that the Author of peace resides therein, ac- 
cording to that of the Psalmist (Ps. lxxv, 3): 
"And his place is in peace." 

9. Avoidance and contempt of honors, riches, 
pleasures and all things temporal. For the 
human heart cannot be without love and delight: 
therefore, he who hates the world, and its glory 
and delights, betrays a love of divine things and 
delight in the Lord. 

10. Either to long for death, or at least not 
to fear it. For he who dreads not the Judge's 
coming is his friend, and he who says with the 
Apostle (Philip, i,23): "I desire to be dissolved, 
and to be with Christ," is considered a lover of 
God. 

11. The testimony of our own conscience not 
reproaching us, nor clamoring against any griev- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 45 

ous sin (2 Cor. i, 12): "Our glory is this, the 
testimony of our conscience." 

12. The testimony of the Holy Ghost, who 
sometimes imperceptibly instils certain words 
into the minds of the just (though they may not 
be very easily distinguished from what spirit 
thej^ proceed) saying, that they have obtained 
God's grace (Rom. viii, 16): "For the Spirit 
himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we 
are the sons of God." If any one shall have 
perceived these marks in himself, blessed is he ; 
but because God's judgments are a great deep 
(Ps. xxxv, 7) : that admonition of the wise man 
is to be followed (Eccl. v, 5): "Be not without 
fear about sin forgiven." 



§10. — Of the Impediments of Spiritual Life. 

1. The first hindrance, and the first defect of 
spiritual life, is inordinate love, whether for one's 
self, or for any creature. But inordinate love is 
that which infects the mind of man with various 
images, distracts and disturbs it; as when one is 
attached and clings to money, clothes, books, 
house or furniture, to such extent that he would 
bear it with chagrin, if these happen to be taken 
from him or lost ; when he is too intent on his 
own conveniences, which renders him incapable 
of denying himself and taking up his cross. 

2. Immoderate delight and sensual gratifica- 
tion in food, drink, conversation, jesting, face- 



46 PABT FIB ST. 

tiousness, familiarities, dissipation and other 
sensual amusements, by which devotion is lost 
and the mind fastened to earth without any rel- 
ish of spiritual things. 

3. In all things to seek one's self for the 
sake of avoiding injury, the loss of property, 
offence of men, remorse of conscience, the pains 
of hell and purgatory; or likewise on account of 
money, favor of men or popularity; or for sen- 
sible devotion, and the joys of heaven. For 
whoever acts rightly, instigated by these mo- 
tives, is imperfect, resting in self and seeking 
self, rather than the glory and good pleasure of 
God. 

4. A certain concealed elation of mind, on 
account of which men become arrogant, saying 
with the Pharisee (Luke, xviii, 11): "I am not 
as the rest of men." And thus they gradually 
lose spiritual modesty, which is the daughter of 
humility, and mother of spiritual advancement. 

5. Human respect, when a person does or 
omits many things, which ought neither be done 
or omitted, to gain the favor of men, and with a 
view of escaping their contempt or hatred ; when 
he is troubled, and anxious to win or retain the 
good will of men; when he desires to be affable, 
polite and friendly to all; for he wastes time to 
no purpose seeking to satisfy all, and it gener- 
ally happens that the more he desires to please 
men the less he pleases God. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 47 

6. Tenacity of one's own opinion and will, 
immoderately wedded to which most people re- 
fuse to resign themselves to God and their su- 
periors, and resort to every expedient, that all 
things may be done after their way of thinking. 

7. Neglect in uprooting vices and curing nat- 
ural defects, from which it happens that not a 
few are always addicted to anger, others to dis- 
sipation, others to envy, others to gluttony; 
some are ever ready to judge their neighbors 
and condemn their actions, wherefore they 
neither know nor duly examine themselves, nor 
have they fraternal charity, nor can they love 
God, since they live for themselves and their 
own gratification. 

8. Sloth, tepidity and ennui in the service 
and love of God ; especially when one is tepid and 
slothful in prayer, beginning with indolence, pro- 
ceeding with negligence, and endingwithoutprofit. 

9. Undue solicitude and concern about exte- 
rior and temporal things, too great dissipation of 
thought about things external; when a person 
plunges into necessary business from impulse, 
rather than from judgment and deliberation; for 
thus interior peace and quiet of heart perish, 
and the business itself is ill performed by reason 
of too great precipitation, as it is written (Eccl. 
xxxviii, 25) : "He that is less in action shall re- 
ceive wisdom," and (Prov. xix, 2): "He that is 
ziasty with his feet shall stumble," 



48 PART FIB ST. 

10. Undue scrupulosity and a continual har- 
rowing of conscience, that repeated confessions 
cannot mitigate. For this restlessness excludes 
peace of mind, without which divine love cannot 
be had. 

11. Profound exercise of the understanding 
in the deepest speculations as well of the sacred 
Scriptures as of other sciences and arts, since 
from these the affection does not soar to God, 
nor is the intellect busied in Scripture for the 
purpose of learning to know and love God, 
but through vain curiosity and other depraved 
ends. 

12. Finally, the last obstruction arises from 
performing all our works from a good habit, 
rather than interior affection, and attaching more 
importance to the greatness and multiplicity of 
good works, than to pure intention and fervent 
love of God. Again, we give little heed to our 
interior motions, do not listen to God speaking 
within by secret inspirations, nor earnestly co- 
operate with the divine presence. And because 
we turn our attention from the simple light that 
is in us to mere multiplicity, therefore we are 
neither enlightened by God, nor know ourselves, 
but continue dissipated and unsettled within, and 
insatiable in the exterior senses. These are the 
chief impediments of our proficiency, which we 
ought to remove, if we would arrive at the sum- 
mit of perfection. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 49 

§11. — Of the Helps of Spiritual Life. 
1. There are so many things that can aid us 
in spiritually moulding our life, that of these 
alone a whole volume may be composed. For 
what page of the Old and New Testament does 
not furnish a perfect model of human life? Or 
what work of the holy Fathers does not cry to 
us to seek our Creator by the road of probity? 
But in such an abundance of means I shall make 
a choice, by selecting a few that may be more 
useful, and can be found within reach every day. 
The first help then of spiritual life is to seek 
self in nothing, but to have God, and him at all 
times present, as the Lord said to Abraham (Gen. 
xvii, 1) : "Walk before me and be perfect," and 
to aspire after him with frequent sighs and 
ardent ejaculations. Next, to have an upright 
intention in all things; to interpret everything 
favorably ; always to draw^ some pious reflection 
from whatever we happen to hear, see or read; 
to accept all things as from the sole hand of 
God, and always to offer one's self to him as a 
continual sacrifice; if at any time one shall have 
fallen into some delinquency, not to be cast down, 
but to return to the Lord with an humble and 
contrite heart; to have recourse to God with firm 
hope in every trial and undertaking, and to com- 
mit all things to divine Providence; continually 
to offer thanks for all favors, to complain of no 
(4— Spir. Life.) 



50 PART FIB ST. 

one, to talk of no one, to have peace with all, and 
to observe silence. 

2. Constant meditation on the life and passion 
of Christ will also afford us great assistance 
towards every virtue. For these are a book of 
virtue, in which, as in a copious library, we can 
find all that concerns the soul's salvation. And 
if every book of all authors were to perish with 
themselves, we would still find all christian 
knowledge and spiritual learning in the Savior's 
life and passion alone. Wherefore the Apostle 
said (1 Cor. ii, 2): "I judged not myself to 
know any thing among you, but Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified." For, in reality, to know 
Christ, and in him whatever conduces to salva- 
tion, is to know all things. But because it is not 
enough to know, and meditate on Christ crucified, 
unless we imitate him; we ought to imprint his 
life, passion and death on our soul and body so 
deeply that all our thoughts, words, actions and 
manners may be in conformity with those of 
Christ, and nothing may be found in us except 
what was in Christ Jesus, and we may speak and 
act just as he taught us by word and example; 
and our soul may be a living image of Christ, in 
which the likeness of all his virtues can be seen 
perfectly expressed. 

3. In fine, other principal helps always at our 
command are the following : To tolerate nothing 
vulgar in one's self, and not to be swayed by the 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 51 

rabble's opinions. To abide at home and live 
retired, as far as possible, because whatever devo- 
tion is gathered at home is scattered by going 
abroad. To behave with decorum among others^ 
and not to be so familiar with any one as to be 
forgetful of modesty in his presence. To be 
discreet and refined in conversation, so that we 
may be unconsciously channels of universal good 
To live an interior life, and be attached to noth- 
ing through love, for all things are vain. Tc 
consign to oblivion all that is past, and daily to 
commence anew. To expect death each moment, 
and to perform every action as if it were to be 
the last. To act from the purest love for God, 
so that we may not cease to perform any good 
work whatever with equal joy and fervor, even 
though it were to be entirely unknown to God. 
To employ and regulate our time now, in the 
manner we shall desire to have employed it at 
the hour of death. To examine ourselves care- 
fully, whether we are interiorly leading a life 
with God, which we shall ascertain by these 
signs: if transitory things are not agreeable to 
us, if retirement and silence please us, and if we 
aim at what is more perfect. While we live 
among men, to beware of two evils regarding 
ourselves and two regarding others; as regards 
ourselves, we must beware, lest we do anything 
in order to be observed by them, and to please 
them, for they who please men are deluded: 



52 PABT FIB ST. 

again, lest we be overpowered with bashfulness 
in things that are to be done in their presence, 
but to be as unconcerned in their sight as if no 
one were present. As regards others, we must 
beware, not curiously to view or scrutinize their 
persons, countenance, gestures, habits or bus- 
iness; nor to judge them in any matter, but to 
pass by as if they had no existence; then, if we 
see or hear of any person what displeases us, 
that our heart be not disturbed, but that we leave 
it to God and those concerned, unless, perhaps, 
correction be incumbent on us by reason of our 
office or superiority, or of friendship, or from 
the necessity of denunciation. If w 7 e ojbserve 
these instructions, they shall afford us great help 
towards making complete progress in virtue. 



§12. — Of the Active Life, and its Works and 

Aim. 
1. Those who profess the spiritual life either 
employ themselves in external actions, or are en- 
gaged in interior occupations of the mind, or 
unite at once exterior works of virtue with inte- 
rior mental functions. The first manner of life 
is called active, the second contemplative and the 
third mixed. The first is the more prolific and 
laborious, the second the more beautiful and 
tranquil, the third the more happy and robust. 
We must briefly treat of each, and first of the 
active. This life then is that, by which a man is 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 53 

professedly devoted to onerous actions, in order 
to dispose himself for contemplation and intimate 
union with God. The active life is also that oc- 
cupation of a spiritual man, which mourns sins, 
tempers affections, repels assaults of tempta- 
tions, relieves neighbors in every spiritual and 
corporal necessity, and discharges the duties of 
all moral virtues. Without this life there would 
be among mankind neither amelioration of morals, 
nor inculcation of virtues; there would be no 
learning, no administration of sacraments in the 
Church; the works of mercy would fail, nor 
would any one give food to the hungry, drink to 
the thirsty, clothing to the naked, or visit the 
sick. The charge of men and administration of 
the entire State would cease; because we furnish 
all these by the service of that life called active. 
2. Its works are distinguished into three 
classes. The first includes those that appertain 
to self-improvement; the second those that re- 
gard the conversion of souls and our neighbors' 
government; the third those that concern tem- 
poral wants both of ourselves and others. In 
the first class are included hatred and chastise- 
ment of sins, fasts, haircloths, vigils, disciplines, 
mortifications of the flesh, exercise and acquire- 
ment of all virtues. In the second are placed 
learning, and enlightenment of others, prudence, 
hv which we give right counsels to our neighbors, 
and direct their life and affairs; spiritual works 



54 PABT FIB ST. 

of mercy, charity, religion, administration of 
sacraments, legal and special justice, and, in fine, 
the hierarchical acts of purifying, illuminating 
and perfecting. The third embraces corporal 
works of meixry, external duties, and services of 
mechanical arts, which are generally performed 
by spiritual and religious men, not for the sake 
of gain, but from motives of fraternal charity. 

3. But the object or goal, to which the active 
life should tend, is no other than the ameliora- 
tion of morals and amendment of life. Whoever 
is engaged in the functions of that life, should 
diligently strive for this object, that by good 
works he may be made pure from all taint, free 
from inordinate affections, and be adorned with 
the beauty of virtues. The result will be his 
embracing those things, in which he shall find 
not worldly splendor, not the gratification of 
self-will, but his soul's greater benefit. But he 
who performs good works without this aim, ac- 
cumulates riches indeed, but according to the 
Prophet (Agg. i, 6): "Put them into a bag with 
holes;" he labors very much and profits little; 
for he only looks outwardly to the work's exter- 
nal appearance, and misses its internal fruit, be- 
cause he does not regard nor seek it. That we 
may, therefore, derive the desired and commen- 
surate fruit from our labors, we must, in the first 
place, take care to live a life of grace in God, be- 
cause he has said (John, xv, 5) : "He that abid- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 55 

eth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much 
fruit." In the next place, we should desire to 
please him alone from whom we hope for re- 
ward, taking heed according to the Gospel, lest 
we perform our justice before men in order to 
be seen by them, otherwise we shall have no re- 
ward with our Father, who is in heaven* 



§13. — Of the Contemplative Life, and its Twofold 
Mode. What are its Works, What its End. 
1. The mode of contemplative life is two- 
fold. One regards those who, entering the sol- 
itudes of the desert, without a superior, without 
companions and without a witness, engage in as- 
siduous meditation and contemplation, hidden in 
caves and dens. The other is made up of those 
who, living in their cells in monasteries under a 
prelate's care, and separated from all external 
employments, are nourished with prayer and con- 
templation. The first mode has now fallen into 
general disuse, and the second alone has re- 
mained, as more secure and better suited to hu- 
man nature. Great is the excellence, immense 
the utility, wonderful the sweetness of this life, 
for its possession is promised, as a prize and re- 
ward, to those laboring in the active life; with- 
drawn from earthlv things, we through it adhere 
closely to God, and filled with angels' delights, 
we are most sweetly inebriated with the plenty 
of God's house. Its duties are the hearing of 



56 TAUT FIB ST. 

God's word, reading of spiritual books, study of 
sacred letters, writing of things appertaining to 
spiritual progress, hearing and reciting of the di- 
vine offices, vocal prayer, meditation and contem- 
plation, all which should commence from love and 
finish in love; for love is the beginning and end, 
the aim and goal of the contemplative life. 

2. But the end to which this life tends is, to 
detach the mind from all creatures, and fix it as 
it were in a sort of death towards temporal 
things. For as a corpse thinks of nothing hu- 
man, covets nothing earthly, is affected by noth- 
ing, however beautiful and precious, but lies 
quite dead in the midst of feasts, wealth,, hon- 
ors and all the pleasures of sense, desiring noth- 
ing of these goods; so a contemplative ought to 
put aside thoughts of all inferior things, fly de- 
sires and delights, despise emoluments and hon- 
ors as nothing concerning him, esteem all earthly 
things as dung in order to gain Christ, imbue his 
mind with supernal desires, and sigh continually 
after the closest union with God, until he repose 
in the embraces of the Bridegroom, saying (Cant, 
iii, 4) : "I found him whom my soul loveth: I 
held him : and 1 will not let him go." 



§14. — Of the Mixed Life, and its End and 

Offices. 

1. The mixed life is that in which one by 
profession embraces both the actions necessary 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 57 

for his neighbors' salvation, and the pursuit of 
contemplation, that action supported by contem- 
plation may be the more profitable, and contem- 
plation intermitted by action may be the more 
fervent. For it is his design and purpose to 
share with equal intent both the quiet of contem- 
plation and the works beneficial to his neighbors, 
his twofold duty, as it were, by which he aims to 
be admitted into perfect charity, and to fulfill all 
obligation of love of self and his neighbor. But 
in this combination contemplation holds the first 
place, both because it is more excellent than ac- 
tion, and is sought on its own account, whereas 
action is desired for the neighbors' profit; and 
because it perfects action and directs it to its 
end, and endows it with power and efficacy. The 
offices then of that life are every kind of con- 
templation, and those duties of the active life 
which regard the salvation of souls; namely, 
government of subjects, explanation of sacred 
literature, preaching of God's word, administra- 
tion of sacraments, teaching of christian doc- 
trine, education of youth, comforting of the af- 
flicted, holy conferences and spiritual consola- 
tions. 

2. This life principally regards bishops and 
prelates, and those who labor for them and with 
them for the salvation of souls. Its end consists 
in this, that the faithful laborer may moderate 
the occupation of prayer with external work, and 



58 PABT FIB ST. 

intermingle external work with the exercise of 
contemplation; that he may neither, through 
love of contemplation, abandon zeal of souls, nor 
through zeal of aiding souls grow tepid in desire 
and ardor of contemplation. How great the ex- 
cellence, the sublimity of this end, we can easily 
gather from the dignity of those who profess the 
mixed life; for they are the cultivators of the 
mystic vineyard, which is the Church, the labor- 
ers of the Lord's harvest, the pastors of souls, 
the successors of the Apostles and of the holy 
Doctors and Bishops, who, taking care of the 
sheep intrusted to them, and earnest in works of 
charity, were devoted to perpetual contemplation. 



§15. Of the Perfection of the Spiritual Life, 
and in What it Consists. 
1. He who says (Matt, v, 48): "Be you 
perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect," 
also (Levit. xi, 46): " You shall be holy, because 
I am holy," shows that there is a certain perfec- 
tion of spiritual life, to the acquirement of which 
all our efforts and exercises should be directed. 
But certain false notions have seized the minds 
of some, who, not having a correct idea of per- 
fection itself, and not knowing in what it con- 
sists, cultivating their own fictions never reach 
the highest degree of sanctity. And others in- 
deed erroneously imagine that perfection consists 
in fasts, vigils, use of haircloths, and macera- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 59 

tion of the flesh, in severe exercises and austerity 
of life. Others again, especially women, think 
they have made very great progress if they re- 
cite many prayers daily, if they assist at several 
masses, frequently confess and communicate. 
Not a few, too, easily persuade themselves that 
they are already perfect, when they devoutly 
celebrate the divine office, when they guard the 
tongue from evil conversations, when they ob- 
serve religious discipline in all things, but they 
are entirely mistaken. For though bodily afflic- 
tions and exterior functions of this kind are a 
great aid in subjecting the flesh to the spirit, in 
overcoming temptations, in acquiring purity of 
heart ; still it is not in them that perfection con- 
sists. Nay, they who devote themselves to these 
pursuits alone, and place their end in them, often 
fall into great dangers, because they are interi- 
orly restless and singular, bitter censurers of 
others, cherishing vices under the mask of vir- 
tue, irascible, curious, proud and difficult to cor- 
rect. 

2. Accordingly, spiritual perfection truly and 
properly consists in perfect love of God and our 
neighbor, as far as it can be had in this life, to 
attain which is required purity of heart, which is 
the aim of spiritual life, and to acquire which 
great care must be taken, lest the heart be tainted 
with any word, thought, affection or delectation, 
that are not from God or for God. Fasts, vigils, 



60 PART FIB ST. 

meditations, nakedness and the privation of all 
possessions are not perfection, but instruments 
and means of perfection, by which peace of heart 
and perfect union with God are arrived at, as it 
is written (Matt, v, 8): "Blessed are the clean 
of heart, for they shall see God." This is the 
highest pitch of sanctity, this the summit of 
evangelical perfection ; namely, to love God with 
our whole heart, with our whole mind, with our 
whole strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. 
Wg ought to advance towards this sublime height 
with all our powers, and sigh after it with our 
whole affection ; because to obtain true sanctity 
continual striving after it is necessary; for he 
who improves not, lacks, and he who advances 
not, recedes, and a man deteriorates the very in- 
stant his unwillingness to become more perfect 
begins. Of great moment in the way of perfec- 
tion is its continual and most ardent desire, if 
however it be efficacious, and be proven by good 
works and the pursuit of virtues; otherwise, if 
good desires remain within the mind, they are of 
no value, for the Scripture says (Prov. xxi, 25) : 
"Desires kill the slothful." 



§16. — Of the Fruits, or Effects of Perfection, 
1. The first and purest fruits of perfection, 
and which are more precious than all wealth, are 
no other than the effects of perfect charity : first 
of which is, purity of mind; because perfect 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 61 

charity, like a most brilliant light, not only dis- 
pels the darkness of mortal sins, but removes 
every slightest stain. Not that the perfect are 
free from every lighter fault in this mortal life, 
but because with most assiduous care they guard, 
from each minor stain, their mind, which if in 
any way they may sometimes have defiled, they at 
once wash with the water of contrition and purify 
with the fire of love. 

2. Surrender of temporal goods, for charity 
fills all the windings and recesses of the soul, so 
that no room is left for earthly things, neither 
can it desire the vile goods of the world. But 
we despise temporal things in two ways, that is, 
in heart and deed if we live in religion ; but in 
the world in affection only, as it is written (Ps. 
lxi, 11): "If riches abound, set not your heart 
upon them." 

3. Allay ment of appetites, for charity subdues 
all our affections to peace and rest, and restrains 
them within duty, that they may not drift into 
the world's vain pleasures. And therefore the 
perfect man places his love and desires in divine 
things, turns his hate and displeasure against 
sins and vices, fixes his hope in God alone, his 
distrust in himself, courageously faces difficulties 
for virtue's sake, and wreaks vengeance on his 
daily failings. 

4. Circumspection of speech, because charity, 
like a burning coal, consumes and purifies all 



62 PABT FIBST. 

uncleanness of the lips, and he who loves per- 
fectly reviles no one, insults no one, reveals no 
one's sins, offends no one by words, is not occu- 
pied with idle reports and profane conversations; 
and "All (his) discourse on the commandments 
of the Highest." (Eccl. ix, 23.) 

5. Purity of thoughts, for the perfect man 
allows only such thoughts as are pleasing to the 
most pure eyes of God, which, if God were to 
draw from the concealment of the heart and 
write on the forehead, he would neither think 
unworthy of his dignity and state, nor blush for 
them as silly and foolish. 

6. Eagerness of desires, for as fire never. says : 
Enough, so the desires of charity, which are 
compared to fire, always find new works of vir- 
tue, search for new services of God, undertake 
new labors, never desist, never rest, and always 
commence, as if they had done nothing. 

7. Solicitude of virtue, since perfection is not 
idle, but surveys all things with close considera- 
tion ; embraces with the greatest joy opportuni- 
ties of exercising all virtues, lest it miss any 
spiritual gain. 

8. Beauty of works, which are performed by 
the perfect, so fervent and sincere, so enhanced 
with proper circumstances, so complete in every 
feature, that they are most acceptable, not only 
to men, who do not see the hidden intention, 
and pay little heed to the defects of works, but 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 63 

also to angels, and to God himself, and appear 
in every way beautiful and worthy in his eyes, 
which are most pure and brighter than the sun. 

9. Endurance of adversities , for he who loves 
God thinks himself happy when he is exercised 
by various tribulations, being insensible to the 
labor and pain by reason of the greatness of his 
love. 

10. Concentration of interior faculties, for if 
profane love, when very ardent, confuses man's 
reason, and leads his mind captive towards the 
object loved; what will be the effect of divine 
love, so much more mighty and irresistible? It 
completely liberates man's mind in thought and 
affection from earthly things, and so attaches it 
to God, that it beholds him alone, desires him 
and strives after him with the whole exertion of 
its faculties. 

11. Harmony of wills, for the will of the 
perfect is united to the divine will by an insep- 
arable bond; it wishes that which it thinks God 
wishes, it does not wish that which it knows God 
wishes not, it loves what he loves, hates what he 
hates, and as far as possible never departs from 
his intimation and command. 

12. Transformation into God, as the Apostle 
says (Gal. ii, 20): "I live, now not I: but 
Christ liveth in me." But neither is the trans- 
formation to be so understood, as if man puts off 
his own nature, and being changed into God 



64 PART FIB ST. 

assumes a divine being, for this can in no way be 
done. But man is said to be transformed into 
God, because, putting off the miseries of the old 
man Adam, he puts on the virtue of the new man 
Christ, and as far as is permitted to man imitates 
his divine attributes. 

These twelve fruits spring from perfect charity 
towards God ; but as far as charity regards the 
neighbor, it begets also three fruits, which are: 
to judge no one rashly, to revile no one, and to 
assist all by deed and example. For a true lover 
of his brethren, as is proper, thinks well of all, 
speaks commendably of all, and aids all by good 
works and favors as far as in him lies. 



§17. — That the Spiritual Life is Not Difficult. 
1. Most people are usually deterred from 
regulating life on principles of holiness, because, 
being misled by a common and very prevalent 
error, they think the spiritual life most arduous, 
and the road to perfection most rough, beset 
with thorns and impassable. This they daily 
proclaim, this they magnify with no little injury 
of soul. For, firstly, they say that individual 
virtues have their object very high above na- 
ture's powers, and that in the case of infused 
virtues we cannot merit them by our own ef- 
forts, nor be disposed for them. Next, our na- 
ture is weak and prone to evil on account of sin, 
and though we may discern and approve the bet- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 65 

ter things, we still follow the worse. Thirdly, 
they augment the difficulty, saying each man, 
from some corrupt disposition or from natural 
temperament, has certain special proclivities to 
some vices; whence it happens that many are so 
naturally prone to certain vices, that they can 
scarcely refrain from them. Fourthly, there is 
great force in habit, which is second nature, ac- 
cording to that of Jeremias (xiii, 23): "If the 
Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his 
spots: you also may do well, when you have 
learned evil." Fifthly, the difficulty increases 
from a certain wavering and fickleness of mind, 
whether that be on the part of the intellect not 
knowing the proper way of proceeding, or of the 
will, which always puts off till next day the per- 
formance of known good. Sixthly, to those de- 
siring to walk in the way of the Lord, external 
objects, worldly cares, occupations of human 
life, which distract, allure, hold back, aggravate 
and disturb the mind, present stumbling-blocks. 
Finally, this difficulty seems approved by sacred 
Scripture, in the following expressions ( Matt, vii, 
13): "Enter ye in at the narrow gate;" (Ibid. 
xi, 12): "The kingdom of heaven suffereth vio- 
lence, and the violent bear it away;" and (Ibid. 
xx, 16) : "Many are called, but few are chosen." 
2. But whatever they may object, the way to 
virtue is easy and open, and that the path of vic§ 
(5— Spir. Life,) 



66 PABT FIB ST. 

is much more difficult than that of virtue, the 
wicked are witnesses, giving this evidence re- 
garding themselves in hell: "We wearied our- 
selves in the way of iniquity, . . . and have 
walked through hard ways" (Wisd. v, 7). But 
if any difficulty appear in the path itself of vir- 
tue, it arises not from the operation of virtue, 
but from vice and the evil disposition of the 
agent. Nor are their arguments of any weight, 
"they frame labor in commandment" (Ps. xciii, 
20). For, in the first place, though we grant the 
summit of virtue to be very lofty, still it is not 
unattainable, since God "hath made our feet like 
the feet of harts" (Ibid, xvii, 34), and gives our 
shoulders wings, wherewith we can very easily 
fly aloft to that height. But what matters it 
that we are not by nature such as we can be 
made by good will and divine grace, which is 
wanting to none? Admitting, secondly, that our 
nature is prone to evil, that original sin has ren- 
dered us very feeble and sickly; still, have we 
not a physician, or are healing remedies want- 
ing? Is there any limit to the efficacy of so 
many sacraments, so many spiritual helps, so 
many instruments of virtue, which wonderfully 
restore, nourish and strengthen fallen nature? 
We say, thirdly, that the force of temperament is 
no doubt great, but in as far as it cannot be 
changed, it can nevertheless be turned to good. 
Are you of a nature prone to anger? You will 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 67 

have your vices, on which to vent the bitterest 
wrath. Are you addicted to love? There is 
nothing more amiable than God, whom you ought 
to love with your entire strength. Does avarice 
sway your mind? Devote yourself to spiritual 
gain. "To them that love God, all things work 
together unto good" (Rom. viii, 28). Fourthly, 
as one nail drives forward another, so an invet- 
erate custom is overcome by contrary acts, and a 
new habit is begotten. For just as one garment 
is taken off and another put on, in the same, 
yea, in a superior manner, evil habits can be put 
aside, and be replaced by new ones through the 
help of Christ, who grants to all "both to will 
and to accomplish" (Philip, ii, 13). The fifth 
difficulty is overcome by shaking off mental tor- 
por, for the slothful wishes and wishes not; but 
the wise man defers not nor procrastinates. This 
is in our power, for we know the way, and can 
enter on it whenever we wish. The sixth objec- 
tion is solved by Scripture, which says (Eccl. 
xxxviii, 25) : "He that is less in action shall re- 
ceive wisdom." The primary occupation of man 
should be about his salvation. But those occu- 
pations, without which human life cannot be pro- 
longed, present no obstacle to solid virtue, nor 
do they diminish the merit of good works, if 
they are undertaken with the view of God, and 
the heart clings not to them with inordinate af- 
fection. The essence of spiritual progress con- 



68 PABT FIBST. 

sists not in union with God by the understand- 
ing, by having him continually present, but in 
union by will and affection, which is compatible 
with external occupations. But what the Scrip- 
tures say — that the way of virtue is difficult — is 
to be understood of that difficulty which is wont 
to occur to the inexperienced and beginners : for 
in course of practice it "putrifies at the presence 
of the oil" (Is. x, 27), and what seemed arduous 
is found direct and easy. 



§18. — Some Other Objections to Spiritual Life 
are Refuted. 
1. There are some, who, although they ad- 
mit there is no difficulty in the spiritual life, 
nevertheless try by certain objections to place 
its practice in jeopardy. And first they demur, 
that its actions are by no means suited to noble- 
men and persons of high state, namely, that a 
spiritual man shall be clad in poor garments, 
neglect his own reputation, loathe dignities and 
engage in various works, which are beneath a 
man renowned by titles and descent. But it is 
clear that all these are harmless to nobility. For 
to serve God is to reign, and servile works them- 
selves become noble, when they are performed 
from a motive of transcendent virtue. Splendid 
dress, external pomp, titles and dignities do not 
constitute a noble. The spirit makes the noble- 
man, and if a man be adorned with virtues, he 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 69 

surpasses all kings and princes in nobility. But 
because all cannot appreciate this doctrine, it 
must be observed, that a nobleman causes no 
detriment to the spiritual life by wearing gar- 
ments suited to his state, putting aside pomp 
and superfluous ornaments. Nay, it can happen 
that that may be more expedient, in order that 
the occasion of ostentation may be removed, and 
he may gain greater reverence for himself with 
the populace, who are wont to measure and esti- 
mate a man by his dress. Men of the world 
can also seek dignities suited to them with the 
proper circumstances of end and means, and 
observe the honor due to themselves ; provided 
they do not despise the poor, and deem them- 
selves most base and vile, and heed that admo- 
nition of Christ (Luke, xxii, 26): "He that is 
the geater among you, let him become as the 
younger." For the Lord does not say, that he 
who is greater is to abandon his majority and 
become the junior, but that he is to conduct 
himself as if he were the junior. 

2. Secondly, they object that the spiritual 
life is full of sadness and melancholy, and ex- 
cludes all gladness. But the inconsiderate rab- 
ble brands a holv life with this stigma, both be- 
cause it knows not how to distinguish between 
true joy and senseless dissipation, between mel- 
ancholy and gravity of manners; and because it 
thinks no joy, no pleasure is to be found, except 



70 PABT FIB ST. 

what is carnal and sensual. But I prove by the 
following argument, that those, who are unrea- 
sonably addicted to sensual pleasures, possess no 
joy; for either they feel conscience reproaching, 
and pricking them with a sharp goad, or not; if 
they are devoid of this feeling, they are the most 
wretched of all mankind, and are plunged in an 
abyss of evils ; but if they feel the gnawing 
worm, undoubtedly their joys are replete with a 
bitterness most bitter, and with the pains of hell. 
But true and lasting joy proceeds only from 
virtue ; other gayeties are adulterated, and being 
alloyed with bitterness affect the body, but do 
not gladden the mind. But a safe conscience is a 
perpetual feast. The very works of penance, too, 
which outwardly show great dejection and deter 
many from spiritual pursuit, refresh the mind, 
though they may afflict the body; and if the 
penitent grieves, he exults in the grief, because 
he atones for his sins, and prepares himself for 
the never-ending delights of the kingdom of 
heaven. Therefore, those who are devoted to 
piety abstain from the world's vain delights, be- 
cause, as I have said, they wish by this means to 
satisfy for their sins, to subject sense to reason 
and glorify God. Moreover, virtue is of itself 
joyful, and needs not external helps to gladness, 
and all flesh is insipid to it after tasting of the 
spirit. Then a good man enlightens and culti- 
vates his intellect by assiduous reading of good 



OF THE PUBQATIVE WAY. 71 

books, and becomes magnanimous and indiffer- 
ent to silly recreations, and knows that it by no 
means becomes him to live daintily among so 
many snares of temptations, especially since he 
is following Christ, who suffered so much for 
our sake. In fine, he fears lest external pleasures 
destroy interior joy, and kill the sense of de- 
votion. 

3. Thirdly, they say that the multitude of 
persons living outside the law is very great, 
through fear of whose judgments they hesitate to 
enter on the ways of life. This is a general and 
pernicious ailment, by which we are despised in 
face of individual examples and judgments, and 
are actuated to think those things best that have 
been adopted by general assent, and of which ex- 
amples are numerous. It is agreeable, no doubt, to 
have many companions, and we shall permit our- 
selves to be remarked by others, if we begin to 
be singularly good. But the Apostle has sup- 
plied us the cure of this ailment, saying (Gal. i, 
10) : "If I yet pleased men, I should not be the 
servant of Christ." For a spiritual man's first 
virtue is to despise the judgments of men, to 
withdraw from the crowd, to be free from the 
world's vices, to abide with himself, to begin the 
work of his soul's salvation with fleeing this 
world; broad is the way that leads to death, and 
"the whole world is seated in wickedness" (1 
John, v, 19). All things are full of dangers, 



72 PAET FIB ST. 

are full of snares. Who is so tenacious of 
right that he can bear the assault of vices, 
and keep himself unstained in the midst of so 
many allurements and examples of the wicked? 
Wherefore a wise man cares not what men may 
judge, for who, to whom virtue is pleasing, can 
please the people? Popular favor is gained by 
evil artifices. It is a maxim, either to imitate 
or to hate the mob. But either extreme must be 
avoided, lest we either become like to the wicked, 
because they are many; or enemies to the many, 
because they are unlike us. 

4. Finally, some are deterred by the length 
of the way, imagining the acquirement of virtue 
to be tedious and the work of many years. But 
to these we can answer, that so great is the ex- 
cellence of virtue, that though we should labor 
during the whole course of life to acquire it, our 
labor would not be vain and unprofitable. "For 
that which is at present momentary and light of 
our tribulation, worketh for us above measure 
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 
iv, 17). 

But it must be stated, besides, that all delay 
and tardiness of our proficiency arise from our- 
selves. For if we wish we can in one day, yea, 
even one hour, reach the summit of sanctity, if, 
estranged from creatures with our whole heart, 
we be converted to God. The journey towards 
perfection will also become very brief for us, if 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 73 

we manfully gird ourselves for the work, reso- 
lutely battling against vices and evil desires; if 
we propose to ourselves a fixed aim and end, that 
is, purity of heart and perfection of charity; if 
we hasten towards this end by certain precau- 
tions, and by settled order and method; if we 
assign its proper time for every exercise, duly 
distributing the hours of day and night; in fine, 
if after making choice of a life and state we 
constantly persevere in our vocation. 



Chapter II. — Of the Seven Capital Sins, and 
of Entering the Combat Against Them. 
The first care of one commencing to serve 
God, when he has taken measures to conquer 
mortal sins, must be devoted to the extirpation 
of evil habits, in which man is steeped while he 
sins. For after the guilt of sin is canceled 
there remain as its offspring in the soul an evil 
habit and propensity to the same sins, con- 
tracted from the custom of sinning, against 
which a continual combat must be maintained, 
until their power is completely overcome. Other- 
wise we shall be like a sick man recovering from 
a severe illness, who is unfit to perform any 
duties unless he re-establish his health. But 
these bad habits are the idols of the Gentiles, 
regarding which the Lord commands (Deut. xii, 
3): * 'Overthrow their altars, and break down 
their statues, burn their groves with fire, . • . 



74 PABT FIB ST. 

destroy their names out of those places." They 
are our foes and the nations hostile to us, of 
whom it has been said (Ibid, vii, 2): "Thou 
shalt make no league with them, nor show mercy 
to them, neither shalt thou make marriages 
with them." They are the snare of which we 
sing (Ps. cxli, 4): "In this way wherein I 
walked, they have, hid a snare for me." They 
are mean garments, which render us, who have 
been invited to the nuptials of the Lamb, un- 
worthy of his banquet. They are diseases, de- 
formities, bonds, obliquities and affections of the 
soul inciting it to evil. They are wounds and 
corrupt humors of such enormity as to overwhelm 
and crush, of such turpitude as to sully and 
smirch, of such tenacious adhesion that nature 
can scarcely sever it. These vices, therefore, 
must be entirely destroyed and cut out from the 
roots, if we mean to plant virtues in the soul, 
and to restore our nature to its original state of 
freedom, as far as the condition of mortality will 
allow, 

§1. — Which are the Capital Vices? 
1. Vice differs from sin; for vice, if we speak 
of it correctly, is a habit, but sin a privation. 
For as virtue is a habit effective of good ac- 
tion, so vice is a habit effective of that evil ac- 
tion in which is perceived a sin of commission. 
Vice, therefore, is a quality, according to which 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAT. 75 

the mind is termed bad, even when inactive. 
But there are seven capital sins, in which, as in 
so many sources or roots, the other vices are 
virtually contained, and against which our first 
attack ought to be directed. Pride, with which 
is connected vainglory — a certain kind of pride 
— holds the first place. Next come Gluttony, 
Lust, Covetousness, Anger, Envy and Sloth. 
But that they are so many, and not more, is 
shown thufv Every evil motion is either regard- 
ing apparent good, or regarding evil. Good is 
twofold: interior, which is perceptible by reason 
alone, and corporal, by sense. Concerning the 
first (to which appertain honor, glory, fame 
and dignities) is pride or vainglory. Concerning 
the other is lust, if it regards the conservation 
of the species; gluttony, if that of the individ- 
ual; and covetousness, if it regards money and 
riches. Evil is apprehended in a threefold way: 
either in some good of our own, as in some dif- 
ficult performance, and regarding that is sloth; 
or in another's good, as if it be our evil, and re- 
garding that is envy ; or as deserving punish- 
ment, and regarding that is anger. 

2, The connection, series and number of 
these vices may be ascertained in another man- 
ner. For foremost is philautia, or self-love, the 
root and parent of all vices. From this usually 
springs a high esteem of self, so that a man 
magnifies, admires and prefers himself; and thus 



76 PABT FIBST. 

is pride the first-born of self-love, and the prolific 
mother of vices. Next, it comes to pass that the 
same vicious self-love covets all created goods for 
sake of its own benefit, at first indeed those which 
have the appearance of propriety, such as honors, 
magistracies and positions of authority, from 
which ambition and vain glory originate; but 
afterwards those that seem pleasing to the senses, 
and gratifying, whence gluttony and lust; then 
the means of acquiring these, that is money and 
riches, from which springs covetousness. But if 
anything that seems to be an obstacle to their 
acquisition interferes, anger bursts forth. If it 
thinks any one is possessed of some good, of 
which itself is either devoid, or fears to be de- 
prived, envy is begotten. Finally, the mind be- 
ing occupied with the pursuit of earthly things, 
no room is left for piety and spiritual interests, 
hence tiresomeness in good actions and sloth are 
brought forth. 

§2. — Of Preparing Requisites for the Extir- 
pation of Vices. 
1. Although we are all deteriorated by these 
vices, they are, nevertheless, difficult to know, 
nor can they be easily overcome, unless God 
makes known to us the hidden things of dark- 
ness, and instructs our hands for battle, that we 
may dash our more powerful adversaries against 
the rock, and, knowing their wickedness, beat 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 11 

them to death. But, as in material warfare, 
requisites for the encounter are prepared before- 
hand, so we, being about to engage in single 
contest against most wily and powerful enemies, 
before commencing the battle should procure 
arms, with which we may be able to defeat them. 
This preparation then has three parts. The first 
part consists in the following: Firstly, that we 
form an elevated opinion of the power and efficacy 
of grace, and place the highest confidence therein ; 
that we distrust our own strength considering 
the power of our adversaries; that relying on 
God we have great hope of victory ; that the de- 
sire of victory being awaked we resolve to join 
battle with courage, saying (Philip, iv, 13): 
"I can do all things in him, who strengthened 
me," and (Ps. xvii, 30): ' 'Through my God I 
shall go over a wall." Secondly, we must take 
measures truly and thoroughly to know ourselves 
and our vices. Then reasons are to be sought 
by which we may be excited to hatred of vices. 
In fine, fervent prayer, reading of pious boob;s, 
counsels of spiritual Fathers, society of tn$ g£>od 
andfrequentation of the sacrament^ ^mit be 
added. 

2. The second part of the preparation con- 
tains some precepts and maxims bearing on this 
subject, which must be always kept ready and at 
hand, 1) Namely, that these vices are to be 
torn up by the roots, and their fibres eradicated ; 



78 PABT FIB ST. 

for if we only cut away the branches, and pre- 
serve the root in our heart, new shoots will ever 
arise, new sprouts of iniquity grow up from it. 
2) That evil habit is to be removed by a good 
one, that vices are to be cast out by acts of the 
contrary virtues, in which matter it is laudable 
sometimes to refrain from things lawful and 
free, that we may the more easily avoid those 
that are forbidden. 3) That acts of this nature 
ought to be interior and mental, rather than ex- 
terior and corporal, though they should also 
pass outward to the body. 4) That the more 
mischievous vices, especially if they be pleasing 
to the senses, are first of all to be overcome; 
then that attention is to be turned to others that 
are less hurtful, and are more easily conquered. 
5) That it is of the utmost consequence to de- 
stroy at once by contrary acts the beginnings, 
however minute, of a bad habit before it strikes 
root. 6) That sure remedies, and these adapted 
to each vice are to be applied according to the 
difference of vices, persons and other circum- 
stances. 

3. The last and proximate part of the prepara- 
tion consists in this, that after the manner of a mas- 
ter or householder, leading the soul into solitude 
we summon the whole family of faculties, senses 
and members, and seriously propose to each the 
amendment of all their vices. Then we shall 
carefully examine the vices which predominate 



OF THE PUB G AT I VE WAY. 79 

in us, observing the offices and duties we are 
engaged in, and the persons with whom we live; 
even employing for that purpose the aid of our 
superiors, companions and adversaries themselves, 
in order to know against what enemies we ought 
to prepare arms. Finally, it is necessary to for- 
tify our heart, like a citadel, with a strong garri- 
son, and the closest watch, lest some entrance be 
open to the enemy, as it is written (Prov. iv, 23) : 
"With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because 
life issueth out from it." 



§3. — Of the 3 fanner to be Observed in the Ex- 
tirpation of Vices. 
1. No organization of an army, no warlike 
preparations will secure victory, unless the sol- 
diers fight bravely, and observe during the en- 
counter the method prescribed by military dis- 
cipline; so all our preparation for the extirpation 
of vices would be useless to us, unless, fighting 
courageously and magnanimously in the combat 
itself, we pursue the enemy to utter defeat. In 
which matter it is necessary, first, carefully to 
consider the importance of what is at stake ; then 
one must look to how he shall act in battle. But 
after victory has been gained, that same vice, 
which has been vanquished, ought to be again 
challenged to combat, imputing to it with threats 
and insults its own infamy and turpitude, as we 
read the great Antony did towards the demons, 



80 PABT FIBST. 

This system is to be followed, in order that vices, 
which from long habit have almost become na- 
ture, may not only be repulsed when they assail 
us, but even destroyed so far that they cannot 
again attack us. But the vice opposed to chas- 
tity, which by its infectious breath alone either 
sullies or kills, must be overcome by flight, not 
by conflict. Here to have fled is the highest 
courage and heroic fortitude ; he triumphs who 
flies, he is vanquished who fights. 

2. The will being thus fortified, acts of the 
contrary virtue are to be exercised, that from 
them a custom and habit may be produced. Take 
the example of anger, when one is incensed on 
account of an injury done him. That motion is 
first to be suppressed, then the anger itself, 
though it be mitigated, is to be provoked, that 
is, it must be strangled with its own arms, and 
anger justly roused against anger. Hence the 
devil is to be upbraided with great hatred and 
strong movement of mind, and violently opposed. 
But when all motion has been allayed, signs of 
civility are to be shown him who inflicted the 
injury, and he is to be entirely forgiven from the 
heart. But if at any time, on account of more 
violent temptation, or the withdrawal of divine 
help for some just cause, the will should be found 
less eager for battle, it might be encouraged by 
reflecting, that it has been constituted mistress 
$md queen of all the other faculties, that it can- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 81 

not be forced involuntarily, and that, fortified bj 
divine grace, it is invincible. It will be also of 
great interest to call on the understanding for 
help, by considering the beauty of virtue and the 
turpitude of vice. Besides knowing the corrup- 
tion of nature it is necessary to distrust our own 
strength, and place all confidence in God's good- 
ness and the patronage of the saints. Then we 
must take care not to lose courage or lay down 
our arms, not to shirk the labor of the combat, 
because, "he is not crowned except he strive 
lawfully." (2 Tim. ii, 5.) But if after pro- 
tracted contest any vice has not yet been over- 
come, we must constantly persevere in the com- 
bat until it is vanquished; for "he that shall 
persevere unto the end, he shall be saved" 
(Matt, x, 22). 

3. But that w r e may proceed in order in the 
struggle against vices, the following must be ob- 
served. Let us avoid all occasion of that vice, 
against which we have resolved to fight ; for in- 
stance, if gluttony molest us, let us avoid feast- 
ings: if pride, the praises of men. When vices 
assail us, let us at once resist the beginning; for 
it is easier to overcome a feeble than a strong 
and powerful enemy. That we may be able with 
one and the same effort both to subdue vice and 
to gain the contrary virtue, we shall assail vices 
by opposite internal and exterior acts of virtues. 
(6— Spir. Life.) 



82 PABT FIBST. 

We must not make war on all bad habits at the 
same time, but we shall gradually attack them 
singly and by parts, proceeding from those that 
annoy us most to the less grievous. If any vice 
happen to be overcome by us, let us acknowledge 
God's favor, and return him thanks, lest proudly 
exulting in the victory obtained we displease 
him, who "resisteth the proud, but to the hum- 
ble he giveth grace" (1 Peter, v, 5). But in 
this pursuit the manner differs from others. For 
in the rest each habit appears in progress, and 
the more perfect works are plain to our eyes; 
but in the spiritual life virtue grows secretly, and 
it often happens that the will is most prompt to 
combat against vices, but the other faculties re- 
luctantly obey. And it also not unfrequently 
occurs, God so willing it, that when most we 
seem to ourselves well disposed for combat, the 
matter succeeds least according to expectation; 
and when we quit the struggle, it often happens 
that we are suddenly filled with divine fervor. 
These are no doubt vicissitudes of things, acts of 
divine Providence, that we may learn not to be 
high-minded, but to fear. 



§4. — Of Man's Danger Even in the State of 

Grace. 
1. Whoever you are, desirous of purging your 
spirit of vices, imagine a man weak in hands, 
diseased in feet and afflicted with dizziness, to 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 83 

whose keeping a most precious liquor is en- 
trusted, to be carried about in a brittle vase 
through a steep place broken by crags, tangled 
with briars, and thronged with crowds of people 
rioting and pressing from all sides; for such is 
our condition, as long as we have the incompar- 
able treasure of divine grace in these frail vesr 
sels, so that we may groan with the Apostle, and 
exclaim (Eom. vii, 24): "Unhappy man that I 
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ?" Who shall free me from a body that is 
mortal and exposed to sinful affections? For 
the soul attached to its members, pierced with 
cares, trammeled with vices, attracted by allure- 
ments, distended with business, contracted with 
fears, straying in errors, disturbed with suspi- 
cions, has a friendly foe, a domestic enemy, a 
kindred adversary, namely, the unhappy flesh, 
which continually endeavors to despoil it of the 
blessings of grace. Numerous other enemies, in- 
ternal and external, all of which seem to have 
conspired against the soul, in order to drive di- 
vine grace thence, unite with the flesh. The in- 
ternal are concupiscence, evil propensities, vi- 
cious affections, depraved habits, perverse opin- 
ions, the exterior senses, an inconstant mind, and 
an untamed and roving imagination. The exter- 
nal enemies are demons ever watching for our 
ruin, men inducing us to sin by bad examples 
and encouragements, all creatures, which either 



84 PART FIB ST. 

allure by their complaisance, or afflict by their 
bitterness us, victims of their evil influence. 

2. The most wise God himself, too, who 
wished the way to heaven to be narrow, some- 
times withholds the abundance of his light, and 
withdraws the aid of grace, for many reasons 
permitting us to be troubled and tried by vari- 
ous assaults and combats. Then the Lord wishes 
us in this way to imitate Christ's patience, and 
have a richer fund of merits, exercising acts of 
virtue more frequently. He wishes to show us 
our frailty, that we may know how feeble are 
our powers without his grace. He wishes, in fine, 
that our most proud foe, Satan, should depart 
worsted with so much the greater infamy, as man, 
by whom he is overcome and trampled on, is 
the weaker. Because, therefore, in this struggle 
human frailty is powerless of itself, beset with 
so many enemies from within and from without, 
and sometimes abandoned by its leader, God 
himself, it must have recourse to the most effec- 
tive kind of arms, that is, to prayer and medita- 
tion; for meditation, with its sharp incentives, 
will stir up the will against vices, and fervent 
and assiduous prayer will obtain for us from 
heaven certain and most secure victory. 



§5. — Of Avoiding Extremes in the Combat 
Against Vices. 
1. In the rooting out of vices there are two 
opposite extremes, both which should be avoided. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 85 

The first is of those who attribute so much to 
divine grace, that they leave the business entirely 
to it. The other is of those who, while they 
fear lest they may not correspond with divine 
grace, are in perpetual difficulties. To the first 
extreme belong the following: To be tepid and 
slothful in pursuit of piety; to despise rules, 
precepts and common practice under pretence of 
following the impulse of divine grace, which is 
to pervert the right order of spiritual discipline ; 
to labor strenuously in overcoming vices as long 
as a certain heavenly sw T eetness allures, but to 
languish and grow lukewarm w T hen that, as if 
a reward, is withdrawn ; to be blind and stupid 
in ascertaining our own faults and errors, to be 
angry for correction, to reject admonitions and 
shut up the way to amendment; to be wholly 
given up to certain devotions and exterior exer- 
cises, but to neglect the extirpation of vices, 
and not so much as think of it; to form great 
projects and undertake nothing; to assail minor 
vices and cherish the more grave; to enter the 
contest lightly and negligently, so that persons 
of this class easily either give up, or are van- 
quished; to think it sufficient if the attacks of 
vices be repulsed when they do violence, but not 
to search after their fibres and roots, that they 
may be eradicated and not sprout up again. 

2. A few other things are to be noted touch- 
ing the second extreme. Namely, that scruples 



86 PABT FIBST. 

and troubles of mind must be. entirely eschewed. 
That we must not be over-anxious in repressing 
first motions, since they are not in our power; 
nor are certain trifles in thoughts, rovings of 
mind, and affections to be much heeded; that 
they are mistaken, who are so shocked at certain 
sudden notions of very immodest things, that 
they are ever after uneasy, lest these apparitions 
again present themselves ; for either corrupt na- 
ture, or the cunning of demons presents these 
to the mind in order to disturb the peace of the 
devout; and, therefore, they should be despised 
as children's bug-bears, and if the mind turn to 
something else, they shall vanish of themselves. 
Next it is to be observed, that not all delecta- 
tions of sense, not all irregular motions are to 
be completely suppressed, as the Stoics falsely 
taught; but these are all to be moderated, while 
evil habits are to be rooted out. Then it is nec- 
essary to use all our endeavors, and omit noth- 
ing that contributes to the extirpation of vices, 
but all confidence is meanwhile to be placed in 
God, without which he watches in vain who 
guards the city, and they have labored in vain 
who build the house. Finally, we ought to make 
use of spiritual precepts with mildness and peace, 
avoiding precise mental reflection and obstinate 
consideration at every moment. For no good is 
wont to spring from these latter, but surfeit of 
combat, weariness of mind, troubles of heart and 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 87 

avoidance of labors. Nor ought a spiritual man 
be afflicted or lose courage on this account, that 
progress in this pursuit does not clearly appear; 
for virtue slowly and secretly waxes strong, nor 
is it easy to detect its growth. But now we 
have to treat of each individual vice, beginning 
with the grosser ones. 



Chapter III. — Of Gluttony. 

The holy Fathers teach that our first combat 
should be with the vice of gluttony, which is 
called gastrimargia bv the Greeks. For in vain 
do we rise up against others until this is elim- 
inated, which supplies nutriment to the rest. 
Among worldlings the root of all evils is avarice; 
among monks 5 gluttony is the root of many. 
Gluttony then is an inordinate indulgence of 
food and drink, a gross vice, and one unbecom- 
ing a rational creature, since it is degrading to 
become the slave of one's own belly. This then 
is to be first overcome, that we may afterwards 
proceed to others more subtle and difficult. 



§1. — Which are the Degrees and Acts of 
Gluttony. 

1. The degrees or species of gluttony are 
five: 1) If a person use food forbidden by the 
Church, and transgress the laws of fasting, 
whether that is prescribed by the Church, or by 
regular discipline, or by special vow. 2) If he 



88 PABT FIBST. 

eat or drink too much, so that health is imper- 
iled, or the exercise of judgment disturbed. 3) 
If he take food and drink too exquisite, and 
more costly than his condition warrants. 4) If 
he eat oftener than is expedient, if outside the 
time, or not in a becoming place. 5) If he par- 
take with too much relish and in an indecent 
manner of the things set before him, swallowing 
them with too much avidity, and be entirely ab- 
sorbed in the food. 

2. From these can be gathered certain acts 
of gluttony, as well interior as exterior, some of 
which are elicited outside, others at the table 
itself. Outside table the first act is to long for 
delicate dishes, sumptuous feasts and seasonings, 
and often to review and think over provocatives 
of gluttony ; next, to be solicitous and inquisitive 
about the hour of meals, the various kinds of 
dishes, and the food to be served; to regard in 
food not utility, nor necessity, but pleasure 
alone; frequently to speak of those things that 
concern gluttony, to take complacence in such 
discourses and feast on them, to praise and blame 
the dishes, wines and cooks, and to complain of 
the bad service and seasonings. But at table 
itself the first act is to have one's soul in the 
plates, as they say, no place being left for pious 
reflections; then to be disturbed in mind and 
indignant, if the food be served too slowly, or 
not in such quantity or quality as one might de- 



Oir THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 89 

sire; not to be satisfied with common, but to 
long for special and more delicate things ; not to 
observe modesty in adjustment of the body, and 
in every point of polite and regular observance; 
to go beyond moderation in the quantity of food 
and drink; in fine, to swallow with excessive 
haste, or to incommode companions by too great 
slowness. 

§2. — Why the Vice of Gluttony is to be Detested. 
1. There are many things that can excite us 
to detestation of gluttony. For this vice is most 
hateful to God, because it in some measure pays 
divine honors to a thing most vile, as it is written 
(Philip, iii, 19): "Whose God is their belly." 
From gluttony are the beginnings of all our 
evils, the eating of an apple subjected us, despoiled 
of original justice, to countless misfortunes, glut- 
tony made us acquainted with death of body and 
soul, and the demons now employ the same to 
crush and trample us in total prostration of mind. 
Gluttony is its own punishment : it pays for the 
joyous madness of one hour by the disgust of a 
longtime. "Who hath wo? who hath conten- 
tions? who hath wounds without cause?" says 
Solomon, "surely they that pass their time in 
wine, and study to drink off their cups " (Prov. 
xxiii, 29, 30). Thus a momentary delectation 
of the palate becomes a lengthened torment of 
the stomach, and a very brief pleasure brings 



90 PABT FIB ST. 

after it a whole crowd of pains and diseases, and 
finally death itself ; for gluttony has slain more 
than the sword. Hence the squandering of fam- 
ily property followed by destitution ; hence the 
waste of time; hence the loss of devotion, and 
dullness of mind; hence laxity, buffoonery, lo- 
quacity, uncleanness, disparagements, quarrels, 
disputes, laziness, languor, silly mirth, blindness, 
listlessness, difficulty and weariness in good 
works, lack of heavenly consolations, dissipation 
and destruction of all virtues. "The people sat 
down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play" 
(Exod. xxxii, 6). 

2. There is no kind of slavery either- more 
oppressive or more degrading than to serve the 
belly, whose tyranny is boundless and greed in- 
satiable. The entire universe is narrow in its 
estimation; all that swims in the deep, all that 
flies in the air, all that lurks in the woods is not 
enough to satisfy it; by no variety of things, by 
no sort of flavoring, by no art can it be satiated. 
It does not value served up feasts for their savory 
qualities, but for their cost, nor does any food 
please it, unless sent from the extreme East, un- 
less men's hazards by the destruction of forests 
and searching of the deep have brought it to the 
table. The bull is filled by the pastures of a 
very few acres, a single forest nourishes several 
elephants, a man, the slave of gluttony, is fed 
from land and sea; and though nature has fur- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 91 

nished him a small body, he surpasses the avidity 
of the most huge and voracious animals. Indeed, 
it is right to reckon among beasts men of this 
class enslaved to the belly ; for they live like 
brutes, if, nevertheless, they can be said to live, 
who plunged in surfeiting and wine have antic- 
ipated their death. Let us blush to imitate their 
folly, let us blush to be made the receptacle of 
dishes, let us blush to put more food in the belly 
than it desires, and not to know the measure of 
our own stomach; let us for shame recoil from 
changing the temple of the Holy Ghost into the 
foulest sewer, and from contaminating with the 
vilest pleasure that mouth, which in the recep- 
tion of the Eucharist is consecrated by the divine 
contact of Christ. He who treats his flesh ten- 
derly nourishes an enemy, sharpens a sword for 
the devil to stab him with. To stuff the belly 
with meats is to weigh down the ship with ex- 
cessive burden, so that it may sink in the surg- 
ing billows. The body requires nutriment, not 
dainties or luxuries ; the momentary decision of 
the palate being given, costly food tastes no 
sweeter than plain. Hunger is not ambitious, it 
is satisfied to leave off, and cares not where it 
leaves off. If we are hungry we may eat, if we 
are thirsty we may drink. But whether the 
bread be common or delicious, whether the water 
be taken from the neighboring lake, or cooled 
with plenteous snow, makes no difference to na- 



92 PABT FIB ST. 

ture, which commands one thing only — that the 
stomach be filled and thirst extinguished. Final- 
ly, if we will meditate on the most holy life of 
Christ, the very frequent fasts of the saints, and 
almost incredible examples of abstinence and so- 
briety, which the ancient Fathers have left us, 
these will excite us sufficiently to hatred of glut- 
tony and love of temperance. 



§3. — Of Remedies for Overcoming Gluttony. 
1. By eating and drinking we repair the 
body's daily losses. Therefore gluttony differs 
in this from other vices, that it can always allege 
nature's necessity, and because we cannot be ex- 
empt from the daily tribute of food and drink, 
the snare of concupiscence is set for us, by which 
the unhappy soul is often entangled, concealing 
the work of pleasure under pretext of sustaining 
health. It is very difficult indeed to know what 
necessity requires, and what delectation; but 
still we must beware, lest we be hurried beyond 
the limits of bodily requirement, and it is neces- 
sary to moderate the rules of temperance, so 
that we may destroy the vices of the flesh, not 
the flesh itself. But as according to the axiom 
of medical science contraries are cured by con- 
traries, the first and chief remedy of gluttony is 
abstinence, leaning a little to over-severity, that 
we may at length persevere in moderation. But 
if one is infirm, and cannot endure this too bitter 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 93 

medicine, let him not at once cut off all super- 
fluities, but gradually and by parts, until he ar- 
rives at a state of perfect temperance. But be- 
cause guzzling is sometimes increased by absti- 
nence, hunger raging the more after fasting, and 
the devil himself exciting hatred of abstinence 
on account of the inconvenience felt in fasting; 
therefore a certain and fixed manner of diet is 
to be determined for each person according to 
his physical constitution, his labors and exer- 
cises of soul and body, the rules of his peculiar 
institute, the advice of his spiritual Father, and 
according to reason and the right conscience of 
each person. 

2. Too great diligence is likewise to be avoided 
in seeking sweet and expensive food both in 
thought and affection, and also in reality when 
such is in our power. Greediness of any victuals 
whatever, even of those that are inferior, must 
be shunned, and nutriments are to be taken like 
medicines. Sauces, which excite surfeiting, are 
not to be looked for, but those that repair the 
strength, and are not injurious to health, are to 
be esteemed sufficient. It is necessary to become 
accustomed to common food, surmounting every 
obstacle whatever. Prudence and caution must 
be used to keep clear of the rocks of ostentation, 
hypocrisy and singularity. While we chastise 
the body we must guard against that anxiety 
which the devil often causes, that strength of 



94 PABT FIBST. 

body will not last to endure prolonged abstinence ; 
for sufficient for the day is the evil thereof, and 
the morrow ivill take care of itself. Then Ave 
must beware not to imitate those, who often 
yielding to the temptation of gluttony determine 
to eat for that day, and fast for the future ; rigor 
of abstinence is to be adhered to rather for the 
present, and some indulgence promised to the 
flesh at a future time. In fine, there must be ear- 
nest application to spiritual things, for thoughts 
and occupations of this kind entirely detach the 
mind from concern for the body. 



§4. — What Rule Ought to be Observed in the 
Use of Victuals. 

1. Let the end be right and pure ; for in the 
daily sustenance of the body pleasure must not 
be sought, nor the mere preservation of nature 
and avoidance of death ; nor health for sake of 
the advantages resulting from it, and of escaping 
the ills of the sickly; nor the preservation of 
strength for engagements, business and employ- 
ments, unless we refer all these to God. Neither, 
likewise, is health to be aimed at for the discharge 
of spiritual functions, which infirmity prevents, 
unless we have something higher still in view. 
Therefore, it is a right and holy end to go to 
table for the sake of sustaining life and restor- 
ing strength, that we may be the better able to 
perform spiritual exercises and functions, and 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 95 

devote our whole selves to the service of God and 
the help of our neighbors, having in view in all 
the greater glory of God himself. Let us study 
to approach the table with reluctance rather than 
with eagerness; for the work of eating and 
drinking is a sort of servitude and impost, a sort 
of penalty and burthen disdainful to human ex- 
cellence. But in approaching the table, let us 
imagine it has been imposed on us by God, that 
for that day, in expiation of our sins, we are to 
use only bread and water, and thus we shall con- 
sider whatever may have been set before us de- 
licious and more valuable. Let us also bear in 
mind how many poor there are, who, if they had 
only the bread we eat, would esteem it the great- 
est delicacy, notwithstanding they may be better 
and more deserving than we. Lastly, because 
taste is not of itself evil, we must not try so 
much to extinguish that sense as to moderate its 
delight, so that reason may be always ready to 
assert itself and govern. 

2. Let prayer and blessing precede the meal, 
then let us like mendicants accept the food from 
the hand of God, and let thanksgiving follow r 
after. But lest moderation in food and drink be 
exceeded, the following must be observed: We 
shall be able to abstain less from bread than 
from other food, because it excites gluttony less, 
and does not render us so liable to temptations. 
But in drink and in other kinds of victuals a 



96 PABT FIBST. 

more rigid rule of abstinence must be adhered 
to, for they more seriously injure the purity of 
the flesh, on which account prayer is requisite, 
that we may know how to distinguish the quan- 
tity necessary for us from what is superfluous. 
But we should always retire from table with some 
lunger, so that immediately after meals we may 
be able to read or pray without grave inconven- 
ience and difficulty. The mind is to be turned 
away from the dishes, and engaged in reading 
and meditation, or even recreated with pious con- 
versations. Let religious, while they take their 
meals, keep their eyes on the table, their ears at- 
tentive to the lecture, and their hearts to, God. 
No complaint should be made of the sort of food, 
but what is served is to be accepted with thanks- 
giving and modesty. Let us without bias deter- 
mine before meals how much food is to be taken, 
making allowance for place, time, occupations 
and present requirements ; and that must be par- 
ticularly observed in certain banquets and rare 
refreshments, whether they take place at home 
or abroad; from which, however, it is better to 
stay away, if it can be done. It will be more fit, 
likewise, to fix with ourselves, at a time when we 
are not hungry, the measure of food and drink, 
which we may on no account exceed; and if 
gluttony tempt us, let us rather reduce some- 
thing of what we have determined. 



OF THE PUB GAT I VE WAY. 97 

§5. — Of the Signs of Conquered Gluttony. 
1. The indications of conquered gluttony are 
these: If we are always in dread of being over- 
come by gluttony, and of being carried beyond 
the limits of necessity; if, determining with a 
firm resolution to fight against gluttony, we go 
to table as it were reluctantly, and take food in 
the same manner as the sick take medicine ; if 
we study to repress nascent pleasure while eat- 
ing, and resist it; in judging, however, of this, 
we must not be too inquisitive, for because it fol- 
lows a previous natural appetite, coming as if 
from the rear it seems unmanageable; then it is 
often uncertain, whether the necessary care of 
the body further demand relief, or the illusion of 
pleasure deceive under pretence of necessity; if 
we do not listen to the clamoring of the extor- 
tioner, that is, of the belly, and, by refusing 
what is asked amiss, restrain its cries and com- 
plaints when it calls for superfluities ; if it be not 
only a pleasure but even a great mortification to 
us to receive something unusually sweet to re- 
pair the body's forces and maintain health; if 
we are imbued with the contrary virtues, espe- 
cially purity of mind and body, for neither does 
the proof of true abstinence consist in corporal 
maceration, but in perfection of chastity ; finally, 
if at any time invited to more sumptuous ban- 
quets and the tables of the aristocracy, we know 
(7— Spir. Life.) 



98 PABT FIBST. 

how to despise the delicacies that are before us, 
and to mortify ourselves in secret. 



Chapter IV. — Or Lust. 
Lust is an inordinate desire of impure and 
libidinous pleasure. Its kinds are familiar to all, 
nor is it necessary to our state to enumerate 
them, as the Apostle says (Eph. v, 3) : "For- 
nication, and all uncleanness, ... let it not 
so much as be named among you." But there 
are some relics of this vice remaining after con- 
version even in spiritual men, and those conse- 
crated to God, of which we are to be warned, in 
order to escape the dangers of greater and irrep- 
arable ruin. 

§1. — Of the Relics of Lust Remaining After 
Conversion, 

1. The first degree of the relics of this vice 
still besetting the mind consists in thoughts ; not 
indeed in the consent, and voluntary compla- 
cence, which is a mortal sin, but in their negli- 
gent expulsion. For there are some who listen 
as if covertly to the serpent's hiss, and though 
they reject it, lest they be stained with mortal 
guilt, still they do so with great remissness and 
hesitation. They take the tire into their bosom 
until it excites a very slight carnal odor and im- 
pure delectation ; not, however, so far that the 
bright blaze of consent break forth. These no 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 99 

doubt are tainted, though not to death, with the 
vice of lust, and unless they try to burst these 
cords of iniquity, with which they are bound, 
they shall be gradually drawn on to consent, and 
finally to wicked accomplishment. 

2. They who do not fear to behold their own 
body nude, and to touch themselves without ne- 
cessity, are in the second degree of lascivious- 
ness. For no small loss of chastity may arise 
from such acts. 

3. They are in the third degree who treat 
their bodies delicately — with sumptuous gar- 
ments, sweet scents, and delicious food, to all of 
which innate love of voluptuousness allures. 

4. In the fourth are found others, who read 
with pleasure books by no means modest, and 
amatory poetry ; and who frequently turn over 
the written subject, that they have not yet cut 
out of their heart. 

5 Finally, the fifth sign of lust not yet com- 
pletely subdued, is a certain intimate familiarity 
with females, begun, it is true, with an upright 
purpose, and fair pretext of confessions, spiritual 
instructions or temporal good; but which at 
length casts one into countless evils, and ends in 
a deplorable fall. For hence spring hurtful 
liberties, acts of too great levity, words provok- 
ing laughter, love tales, and certain pleasantries, 
by which modesty is insensibly laid aside, and all 
shame is at last cast off. Next come too free 
LofC. 



100 PABT FIB ST. 

contact of hands, frequent small presents, long 
conferences, mutual disclosure of secrets, neglect 
of modesty, over-confidence in self, and by these 
trifles, if they are trifles that lead to ruin, a broad 
door is opened for most grievous sins of impur- 
ity; whoever, therefore, has his salvation at 
heart, he will endeavor to pluck out and exter- 
minate from himself these relics of hidden con- 
cupiscence, for although these acts do not infect 
the soul with mortal sin, nevertheless they pre- 
pare the way for it, and they are acts of lust 
gratifying itself in what it can. 



§2. — Of Incentives to the Hatred of Lust. 

1. No fouler vice than this is found, none 
that carries with it more infamy and disgrace, 
and of which we are more ashamed. Hence 
arises that feeling of shame implanted in all by 
nature, by which men are wont to be affected 
and disturbed if they suspect even their lightest 
sins of this kind have become known to others, 
and the more estranged a person ought to be 
from this vice, on account of age, manner of 
life or high rank, the greater is his dread of in- 
famy, sometimes so great, that betimes these 
disgraceful sins are suppressed in confession at 
the risk of eternal punishment. No vice, too, is 
corrected with greater difficulty ; a person once 
plunged in this mire scarcely ever emerges with- 
out God's special assistance. There is no vice 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 101 

more at variance with prudence and reason, and 
which obscures the mind with such darkness. 
What obscurity, especially in spiritual things, 
does not even a very slight thought driven out 
too negligently cast over the soul? From this 
vice spring many and most grievous evils, weari- 
ness and slackness in the exercise of virtues, an 
inclination to all sins, mental blindness, heedless- 
ness of duties, precipitation, insensibility, caprice, 
self-love, hatred of God, attachment to the pres- 
ent life and a horror of the future. 

2. It must be observed that all families of 
Eeligious are founded with the spirit, that if 
chastity begin to give way, the whole order is 
likely to collapse along with it. For incon- 
tinence renders a man incapable of receiving the 
spirit of religion and of performing its functions. 
Wherefore, if any one begins to waver in this 
matter, he falls at last, and sometimes, too, aban- 
dons his vocation. There is no vice that brings 
greater dishonor to the whole family, that is a 
greater obstruction to our neighbors' salvation 
and the glory of God ; but if we drive dogs and 
unclean brutes from the house of God, which 
is built of wood and stone, why do we suffer 
evil thoughts in ourselves, who are the liv- 
ing temples of God? And if we will not have 
the slightest spark of fire enter our wardrobe, 
why do we allow the fire of lust to come into 
our heart, in which is the treasure of divine 



102 PABT FIB ST. 

grace, having greater esteem for a perishable gar- 
ment than for our immortal soul? Would the 
vilest slave dare to defile the hands or feet of 
a king? But he who sins carnally does not 
hesitate to befoul Christ's members; for we all 
Christians are members of one body, of which 
Christ is the head. Therefore, a great and most 
bitter hatred against this bane must be con- 
ceived, with a fixed and ardent desire entirely to 
destroy all, even the slightest vestiges of this so 
foul and dangerous vice. The greatest pleasure 
is to have conquered pleasure, nor is there found 
a greater victory than that gained over our con- 
cupiscence ; he who has overcome an enemy, has 
proved stronger than another; he who has sub- 
dued lust, become stronger than self, has tri- 
umphed over himself. 



§3. — Of Remedies Against Lust. 
1. Contraries must be cured by contraries, 
vice by virtue. Now, there are five degrees of 
chastity by which lust is to be overcome. The 
first excludes all mortal complacence in things 
contrary to chastity, and all consent either tacit 
or expressed. The second is exempt from all 
carelessness and delay in resisting temptations, 
allurements and thoughts. The third casts out 
all inordinate affection from the mind, so that 
thought is never excited by affection, nor sense 
by thought. The fourth shuts off from the 



OF THE PUEGATIVE WAY, 103 

imagination every dangerous- and immodest idea, 
so that nothing unchaste ever strikes it, or, if 
any thing such occur on account of the cor- 
ruption of nature or suggestion of the devil, it 
immediately vanishes, and, like a ship at sea, 
leaves no traces behind. The fifth so strength- 
ens a man, that even sleeping he eagerly re- 
sists. But knowing these things, and perceiv- 
ing the excellence of this purity, we ought to 
take a view of our own weakness, then fall down 
humbly before God, and confess that it is not 
the work of our strength, but of divine good- 
ness, to preserve chastity intact. Because no 
one can be continent unless God gives it (TTisd. 
viii, 21). Indeed, unchaste thoughts must be 
opposed instantly at the first approach of tempta- 
tion, as we are wont with the utmost haste to 
shake a burning coal from our clothes. But he 
who always keeps his heart occupied with good 
thoughts, will bar the way to the entrance of 
evil suggestions. For a new-comer cannot oc- 
cupy a lodging already in possession of another 
guest. 

2. No doubt we must rely on God's grace, but 
that does not exclude our co-operation ; where- 
fore we must drive far from us all beginnings of 
unchastity, all occasions however remotely they 
may threaten to ensnare us. Of this kind are 
idleness, for the idler lives not for himself, but 
for his belly, for sleep and forbidden pleasure; 



104 PABT FIBST. 

gluttony, because (Ezech. xvi, 49): "This was 
the iniquity of Sodom, . . . pride, fulness 
of bread and abundance;" and (Eph. v, 18): 
"Be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury;" 
obscene books, which enervate the mental pow- 
ers, and burst all the sinews of virtue; indecent 
pictures, for as the Wiseman (xiv, 12) says: 
"The beginning of fornication is the devising of 
idols," that is, improper statues and pictures, 
which infuse poison into the soul through the 
eyes; restless and curious eyes, wherefore Job, 
both dreading and shunning this precipice, says 
(xxxi, 1): "I made a covenant with my eyes, 
that I would not so much as think upon a vir- 
gin ;" immodest conversations, for, as the Apostle 
says (1 Cor. xv, 33): "Evil communications 
corrupt good manners;" bad companions, be- 
cause we perish through the examples of others. 
(Eccl. xiii, 1): "And he that hath fellowship 
with the proud, shall put on pride." All these 
are to be cut away by the roots, if we wish to 
live chastely, for fuel must be withdrawn from 
the fire, lest we be consumed. 

3. The following will contribute much to ward 
off this baneful disease: 1) Spiritual reading, 
as a certain saint has said: "Love knowledge of 
the Scriptures, and you will not love vices of the 
flesh." 2) Moderate bodily affliction, and chas- 
tisement in abstinence, sobriety, coarseness of 
garments, haircloth, self-flagellation and other 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 105 

penances, according to the need of one's state and 
advice of a spiritual Father. 3) The practice? 
of assiduous prayer, frequent aspirations and 
the continual presence of God. 4) Frequent 
confession of sins, by which means the soul is 
enlightened and receives strength to resist, and 
speedily attains to angelic purity. 5) An un- 
broken series of good works and spiritual exer- 
cises, so that the devil may always find us busy. 
6) A careful and close custody of the exterior 
senses, lest death enter by the windows. 7) 
Modesty and self-regard in all places and at all 
times, particularly when dressing and undress- 
ing. 8) A clear and open manifestation to our 
spiritual Father of all affections and besetting 
temptations ; for the enemy flies when he sees 
that he is discovered. 

4. In fine, the mind must be weaned with 
great care from any intimacy whatever with fe- 
males, from prolonged company and discourse of 
the opposite sex, and from too curious scrutiny 
of unchaste things and words. We may, indeed, 
know the name of females, but we must be un- 
acquainted with their face. A woman drove man 
out of paradise. She was made man's helper by 
God, but through the serpent's envy she assumed 
the character of an enemy. There is nothing in 
her but what strikes, burns and destroys. What- 
ever is from her, whatever belongs to her should 
be treated with distrust. But if there be a neces- 



106 PABT FIB ST. 

sity of speaking to a female, it must be done 
with the utmost circumspection, and with great 
reserve, just as if her father or husband and 
other grave persons were present. In communi- 
cation with females we must also beware of too 
great confidence in ourselves, nor ought we trust 
in past victories. Many, deceived by this confi- 
dence, have fallen into frightful precipices. We 
are neither stronger than Sampson, nor more 
holy than David, nor wiser than Solomon. The 
hope is deceitful, which expects to be saved in 
the midst of allurements to sin. One can scarcely 
drink poison and live, be surrounded with flames 
and not burn. Sometimes persons sitting with 
women shed tears, feel compunction, and do not 
perceive any assault of evil thought, but this is 
a most subtle cunning of the devil; for when 
they imagine there is peace, sudden destruction 
shall come upon them. How many, and what 
eminent men, after confessions and triumphs, 
after signs and wonders, are known to have been 
ship-wrecked ! But such is ever the incredulity of 
human obstinacy, that neither by hearing nor by 
seeing does one believe others have perished, un- 
less he see himself perish likewise. Under these 
circumstances flight, and shunning of all occa- 
sions, are the only sure and safe means of vic- 
tory. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 107 

§4. — How We are to Fight Against the Flesh 
and its Corrupt Desires. 

1. In the contest with the flesh and carnal de- 
sires three things are to be considered ; namely, 
those that precede the temptation, those that ac- 
company it, and those that follow it. Accord- 
ingly, before temptations of this nature arise in 
us, we shall never try to provoke them to battle ; 
and we shall carefully avoid and cut off the 
causes from which they are wont to spring. We 
shall never judge our neighbor guilty of this vice, 
and if his sin be so manifest that it can in no way 
be excused, still we shall pity him from our heart 
without any feeling of anger or contempt, turn- 
ing another's fall to our own profit, and asking 
help from God with humility and fear, lest we be 
seized by a like temptation and fall. Whoever 
despises and judges another, by God's permis- 
sion falls into the same fault, that we may learn 
not to be high-minded, but to fear. Too great 
security and complacence must also be avoided, 
although heavenly grace and interior consolations 
may superabound in us ; for it is written (Prov. 
xvi, 18) : "The spirit is lifted up before a fall," 
and (Ibid, xxviii, 14) : "Blessed is the man that 
is always fearful." 

2. Temptations already rising up are to be 
met in the following manner: First, the causes 
from which they proceed are to be sought for, 
whether they be exterior or interior. The ex- 



108 PABT FIBST. 

terior are conversations, reading, occupations, 
intercourse. The interior spring either from our 
body, because it is too petulant, or from immod- 
est thoughts, which are excited in us either by 
the devil, or by our bad habits, or by neglecting 
to watch over the senses. Then the causes once 
known should be cut off by efficacious remedies. 
None is found more wholesome and ready against 
exterior causes thaii their interruption and avoid- 
ance; the body should be subdued by fasts, hair- 
cloths, vigils and other chastisements, from 
which, however, we ought to abstain while the 
temptation lasts, for then thS best plan is to re- 
main passive and avoid any bodily movement. 
Against unchaste thoughts there are no meas- 
ures more effectual than devout prayer, pious 
meditations, lectures, studies and continual oc- 
cupation in business befitting our state. But 
meditations must be made on the passion and 
death of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are the 
strongest medicine against the allurements of 

© © 

the flesh, but not on those subjects which most 
prescribe, namely, that the harm, turpitude and 
shamef ulness of carnal vices should be dwelt on ; 
for since, in the opinion of all, the best remedy 
against these vices is flight, therefore, whatever 
affords any occasion for immodest ideas should 
be avoided. But if the temptation be from the 
devil, without our concurrence, it is overcome by 
despising it and resisting its beginnings. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 109 

3. When at length temptations shall have 
ceased and forsaken us, let us not exult in un- 
guarded security, imagining we shall be free 
from them, but let us guard our heart with con- 
tinual watchfulness, and never, under pretext of 
any spiritual utility, recall to mind the past com- 
bat ; for there the deceits of corrupt nature, and 
the snares of the devil are concealed for the pur- 
pose of entangling the mind, and alluring it to 
some temptation. Not even for the sake of sor- 
row and repentance should the mind be turned to 
the sins of this sort we have been guilty of; but 
it is sufficient to be sorry for them all in general. 
Nothing, however trivial and of little moment it 
may seem, should be disregarded in this matter. 
For it is scarcely credible what enormous flames 
often arise in the breast from a very small spark, 
so that once to have looked too curiously, once 
to have listened, has afterwards to be atoned for 
by the tears of many years, and the wound thus 
inflicted can be healed only after a long; time, 
and with many remedies. 



§5. — Of the Signs of Extinguished Lust. 

1. The following are the evidences of perfect 
continence and chastity : 1) If we either rarely 
or without fault feel the stings of the flesh, and, 
bewailing their persistence, say with the Apostle 
(Rom. vii, 24) : "Unhappy man that I am, who 
shall deliver me from the body of this death?" 



110 PABT FIB ST. 

2) If we find such stings and motions daily more 
subdued and enfeebled, in a manner that the. 
flesh, like a timid dog, may sometimes bark at a 
distance, but not approach. 3) If we easily 
overcome and reject impure thoughts when they 
enter the mind, or even before their approach 
spurn them already known, thus anticipating 
them. 4) If we desire and love chastity with 
ardent zeal, wishing to be freed even from 
natural stings of the flesh, and also from the 
delusions of dreams. 5) If we carefully guard 
the doors of the senses, especially of sight and 
touch, averting the look from all beauty, and 
blush to look not only on the bodies of others-, 
but even on ourselves. 6) If we are watchful, 
and, admitting ourselves frail and feeble in this 
respect, most assiduously cut off and fly every, 
even the slightest, occasion of immodesty, though 
appearing only from afar. 7) If any carnal 
commotion, that occasionally steals upon us 
through want of attention, subside without a 
sense of pleasure. 8) If w r e are in no way 
moved to concupiscence by the sight of females. 
9) If we feel that we exceedingly abhor the con- 
versation and society of women. 10) Finally, 
if we are not deluded in sleep by seductive ap- 
paritions of females, and even in dreams, if they 
sometimes happen at the suggestion of the devil, 
strenuously resist all evil emotion. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. Ill 

Chapter V. — Of Covetousness. 
Covetousness is an inordinate longing for 
riches and temporal goods, a most insidious vice, 
lurking under the manifold pretext of one's own 
or another's necessity. For no one admits that 
he is avaricious, but some say, that they amass 
riches, in order to provide for themselves and 
their children; others, that they may be able to 
maintain the poor by their alms ; not a few, that 
they may build churches and perform other 
good works, who, nevertheless, by a pitiful mis- 
take deceive themselves, never expending the 
hoarded gold, nor setting any bounds to vicious 
cupidity. Natural desires have their proper end; 
those that spring from erroneous opinion are 
without limit. The wayfarer has some end to 
his journey, but no end is found for error. 



§1. — Of Acts of Covetousness. 
1. Acts of covetousness are of two kinds, 
some mostly regard those who are in the world, 
others concern those who by solemn vow have 
professed evangelical poverty, and have cut off 
from themselves the dominion of all things. Of 
the first kind are: 1) When one covets another's 
goods contrary to the tenth precept of the Deca- 
logue, or contrary to the seventh, really receives 
or retains them against the owner's will. 2) If 
he make a bad use of his own goods, and does 
not share them with the needy, when the law of 



112 PABT F1BST. 

justice or charity obliges hint to do so. 3) If he 
seek temporal goods with too much eagerness, 
and trample on the laws of God, of the Church, 
and of his state, for the sake of gain. 4) If he 
perform good works with the main view of 
worldly profit, and for the same end neglect those 
to which he is bound. 5) If he give his whole 
heart to the heaping up of wealth, if he possess 
his own goods with undue attachment, and be 
not prepared to relinquish them in any way and 
at any time it may please God. 

2. But the following acts regard Religious: 
1) To cling with too much affection to necessary 
things, the use of which is allowed, and to hold 
them as one's own with obstinate tenacity. 2) 
To retain or receive anything without permission, 
and to have any property or money by one's self 
or in care of others, which is an abyss of evils, 
and the ruin of all Religion. 3) To desire what 
is rare and superfluous in dress, in books and 
furniture of cells, which covetousness distracts 
the mind, and torments it with the most foolish 
cares, a real shunning of the inconveniences of 
poverty. 4) To turn often in spirit and thought 
to goods left in the world, and to wish for them 
again. 5) To endeavor and wish to have useless 
expenses incurred on one's account. 6) To hide 
from the superior things had with or without his 
knowledge, in such a way that they cannot be 
easily found by him ? as often as he wishes, 7) 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAT. 113 

While not wishing for superfluities, to desire ne- 
cessary things costly, new, most convenient, and 
tasteful. 8) To have many unnecessary things, 
and when deprived of any article, to feel annoyed 
or complain. 9) To guard with anything like 
obstinacy the things a person uses, to be unwill- 
ing to give or lend a part to any one, and to abuse 
the same without any care for their preservation. 

10) To bestow, exchange, carry off, and alienate, 
without leave, things given for one's private use. 

11) Finally, those religious are guilty of the 
sin of covetousness, who seem to have vowed 
poverty on condition that nothing be wanting to 
them in food, clothing and habitation, loving 
poverty only that they may display it by their 
dress, not that they may feel any of its effects, 
or suffer any of its inconveniences, for if they 
have to bear the slightest trouble in the use of 
daily things, they immediately become sad, mur- 
mur and complain. 



§2. — Wliy Covetousness is to be Hated. 
1. It is the decision of Christ, that the poor 
in spirit are blessed. The same has said (Luke, 
xiv, 33): "Every one of you that doth not re- 
nounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my dis- 
ciple," and the Apostle says (1 Tim. vi, 9): 
"They that will become rich, fall into tempta- 
tion, and into the snare of the devil, and into 
(8— Spir. Life.) 



114 PABT FIBST. 

many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which 
drown men into destruction and perdition." Take 
away covetousness, and discord ceases; abolish 
avarice, and love alone reigns ; let covetousness 
have an end, and ambition is no more. Thence 
springs dishonesty, thence arises deceit; from it 
originate factions, perjuries, treasons, hardness 
of heart, cruelty and aversion of spiritual things. 
Anger, plots, murders, public and private feuds 
are the fruits of covetousness, that if one over- 
come another, the victor may plunder the prop- 
erty of the vanquished and satisfy his cupidity. 
Covetousness, the searcher of gain, the bottom- 
less pit of plunder, unhappy through the desire 
of acquiring, most wretched through fear of los- 
ing, sells all things sacred and profane to accumu- 
late riches, the pleasure of which is fleeting and 
the danger manifest. They suddenly abound 
and then glide away, they never firmly maintain 
their ground with fixed roots. Prompted by 
avarice, the son plots against his parent guilty of 
too long a life ; it fills the land with robbers, the 
sea with pirates, cities with riots, private houses 
with assassinations and ambushes, the market 
place with injustice. On the testimony of the 
Apostle (Eph. v, 5): Covetousness "is a serving 
of idols," for the reason that the covetous, con- 
fessing God by words, but denying him by deeds, 
rest in money as in their last end. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 115 

2. The covetous man is hateful to his rela- 
tives, oppressive to his servants, useless to his 
friends, troublesome to his neighbors, a stingy 
guardian of himself, ever anxious and scheming 
he enjoys not present goods, eagerly seeks those 
he has not, uses not his own and covets those of 
others. His body is not sufficiently nourished, 
his soul profits nothing ; in order to make others 
his heirs he disinherits himself; he acquires 
wealth for others, and prepares ruin for him- 
self; he turns present goods into future evils, 
and while he knows not the proper use of riches, 
he converts those very riches into his own tor- 
ments. He who thinks that whatever is owned 
by others is wanting to himself, is poorer than 
all. He is in need of the whole world, whose 
cupidity the whole world does not satisfy. As 
drink excites the thirst of the sick, so acquisi- 
tions stimulate the frenzy of amplifying. Oh! 
wretched is he, whom the long catalogue of 
his inheritance, and vast tracts of land to be 
cultivated by bondsmen, and countless herds of 
cattle to be fed through provinces and king- 
doms, and a household more numerous than war- 
like nations, and private buildings surpassing 
great cities in extent delight. For what good 
results to a man from these? Yea, what evil 
does not arise from riches, which both all the 
wise affirm and experience itself proves to be the 
pause of all evils? These two things — vices and 



116 PABT FIBST. 

riches — have a sort of fellowship, even almost 
an identity of name (vitiis and divitiis). 

3. But if this vice seize the religious man, 
when propagated it ruins the sanctity of his 
whole Order. For it turns the mind from the 
concern of heavenly things, and fastens it on 
earth, and deprives it of the feeling of divine 
consolations, prepares spiritual perplexities and 
anxieties, despoils of peace, and impedes and 
holds it back, lest it freely soar to the things 
above. It renders man vile and sordid, inas- 
much as his mind is busied about the meanest 
things, which christian faith teaches should be 
cast away and trampled under foot, and his love 
drawn aside to the things of earth. Again, 
those who are not satisfied with few and com- 
mon things, harass their superiors with a heavy 
burden, injure the brethren by their example, 
and are the cause of remarks, hatred, envy and 
detractions, not without great loss of charity, 
which can be preserved with difficulty where 
equality is not observed. Then people of the 
world are offended and indignant if they see Relig- 
ious bent on collecting money and heaping up 
other wealth, and they avoid and detest them, 
suspecting them to be covetous and mercenary, 
and fearing lest they may be hunting after gifts 
under the semblance of piety. In fine, he who 
desires anything very much, in order to acquire 
it will easily fall into lies, false pretences and 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 117 

adulations ; but if he does not acquire it, he will 
break forth into offences, complaints and dispar- 
agements, and into hatred of those who opposed 
him; nay, he will even be racked with envy 
against those who possess what he has not. It 
likewise usually happens, that things which can- 
not be had at home are sought abroad; those 
that are not granted are taken ; those that are 
not allowed to be openly had are meanly and 
basely hidden away; frequently, with the vow's 
violation, and danger of grievous sin ; but, on the 
other hand, the bare monk is lord of the whole 
world, and by faith possesses all things, because 
he has given the care of himself to him whose is 
"the earth, and the fullness thereof" (Psalm, 
xxiii, 1). 

§3. — Of Remedies Against Covetousness. 
1. No remedy is more effectual against covet- 
ousness, than to be content with few things. We 
can live without riches, we can be housed without 
an artist in marble, we can be clad without the 
traffic of wealth. We do not understand how 
many things are superfluous, until they begin to 
lack. We make use of numerous things, not be- 
cause we ought, but because we have them. Na- 
ture hath not brought us forth so weak that we 
should need such an abundance of goods; but by 
our industry we aid vice, and minister to the 
senses' appetite, which nothing satisfies. Na- 



118 PABT FIBST. 

ture orders thirst to be quenched, but whether 
the cup be earthenware, or water be taken from 
the hollow of the hand, matters not to nature. 
But luxury has revolted from nature, and com- 
mands us to drink from a crystal vessel, easy to 
break, which may teach at the same time both to 
drink and to fear. Therefore, we shall be freed 
from great troubles, if we learn to desire only 
those things that are purely necessary. Shall 
the sword not divide a loaf, unless it have an 
ivory hilt ? Shall not an earthenware basin re- 
ceive the cleansing of the hands? And shall not 
a lamp give light, unless it be the work of a 
goldsmith? He is viler than gold, who thinks 
that he is adorned by gold ; and he who wants 
many things, is poorer than any beggar. 

2. It will also be a useful lesson against this 
vice, from time to time, by imaginary, to accus- 
tom ourselves to real poverty; to reduce our- 
selves to a little in spirit and will, from which 
we may not fall, and divert our affection from 
necessaries themselves. We do not achieve much, 
if we spurn superfluities ; but to despise neces- 
saries is a work of supreme virtue. And to pro- 
duce this contempt in the mind, it is necessary to 
consider the vileness of earthly and the grandeur 
of heavenly things ; then all those to which the 
mind is most attached, must in reality be aban- 
doned. But that we may be the safer from all 
error regarding ourselves and our affairs, all 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 119 

power of action and disposal is to be left to God 
with complete resignation, and we ought be al- 
ways prepared calmly to endure poverty and the 
loss of all goods. If, however, we are bound by 
the vow of poverty, we should use nothing as 
our own, and all things are to be considered as if 
they belonged to others, and were received on 
loan. If anything be occasionally refused, or 
taken away, it is to be endured with joy, and all 
things are to be cast aside with great freedom of 
spirit, and God alone is to be desired with all our 
heart; whom if any one has, he possesses all. 
Let us trust in his providence and protection 
with the utmost confidence, since he has care of 
us; let us rely on his will and government in 
everything, and let us open our bosom to him, 
that he may replenish it with virtues, which are 
true riches. Let us desire these spiritual goods 
with the greatest eagerness, and, as if dead to the 
world, wish for nothing earthly. Finally, let us 
practice mercy and liberality towards our neigh- 
bor, and, when temporal goods are wanting, let 
us gladly share the spiritual with him. 



§4. — Of the Signs of Defeated Covetousness. 
The covetous man shall be considered near 
amendment, if he be visited with disasters, and 
lose the goods of fortune; for trouble gives un- 
derstanding, and then the covetous, however un- 
willing, confesses that riches are thorns, and that 



120 PABT FIRST. 

he ought to make himself friends of the mammon 
of iniquity; wherefore he ceases from injustices, 
and from ill-treatment of the poor, and the 
thought of impending evils is for him the begin- 
ning of salvation . But the Religious shall be known 
to have conquered avarice: 1) If he gladly dis- 
tribute, or order to be distributed, among the poor 
the riches he possessed in the world, and cheerfully 
say with the Apostles (Matt, xix, 27): "Behold 
we have left all things, and have followed thee." 
2) If he does not keep even a cent for the relief 
of his own wants, but trusts in the kind care of 
superiors and in the providence of the Lord. 3 ) 
If he entirely reject superfluities, as well in food 
and dress, as in lodging and furniture, and pro- 
cure and desire without anxiety the things that 
are necessary. 4) If he bear not only patiently 
and without murmurs, but even with a joyous and 
cheerful spirit occasional needs, and wants of ne- 
cessary things, 5) If he be not over-solicitous 
for the things that are requisite either for himself 
or for his monastery. 6) If he courageously ob- 
serve the rules of his Order that regard poverty, 
and suffer them not to be violated on any pre- 
tence; then let him gladly labor in the Lord's 
vineyard without any expectation of reward, and 
freely give what he freely received. 



Chapter VI. — Of Anger. 
Anger is both a capital vice and a passion 
of the sensitive appetite respecting present evil. 



THE PUBGATtVE WAY. 121 

We here treat of it as a vice, in which sense it is 
defined an inordinate desire of revenge. Its acts 
are manifold: for the angry sin by will and 
thought, they sin by exterior deportment, they 
sin by words and deeds. 



§1. — Of the Acts of Anger. 

1. The acts of anger, which are elicited by will 
and thought, are as follows : 1 ) Not to repress at 
once the first movements of anger, but rather to 
encourage them by the recollection of injuries, 
the interjection of word or deed, and the discus- 
sion of those subjects, by which the sparks of 
anger are wont to be stirred up and enkindled. 
2) To be disturbed in mind, to be unable to en- 
dure anything, and to be wounded and displeased 
by all things, even the most trivial. 3) To be 
estranged from any one on account of some injury 
or offence, and to curtail love and esteem towards 
him. 4) To be peevish and harsh to any one, to 
be affected with interior bitterness towards him, 
to wish some evil may befall him, to rejoice if it 
has already happened, and to be sorry for his 
well-being. 5) Implicitly to desire revenge by 
wishing anyone punishment or some mark of in- 
famy, and if any of these come to pass, to be 
glad thereat, often, too, under the pretext of 
charity and general good. 

2. These acts are comprised in exterior de- 
portment : 1 ) To turn away the eyes from him, 



122 PABT FIB ST. 

by whom one thinks himself injured, or to look 
at him sternly. 2) To be unwilling to listen to 
one speaking for the purpose of appeasing, or for 
any other cause. 3) To toss the head, hands, 
feet and entire body hither and thither in unbe- 
coming agitation ; to utter threats with flaming 
eyes, to contract the forehead and eyebrows; to 
wrinkle the nose, gnash the teeth, hiss and foam. 

3. To words appertains morose and obstinate 
silence, for the purpose not of repressing, but of 
manifesting indignation, or because anger pre- 
vents utterance. To the same belongs not to re- 
ply to those questioning, and appealing of their 
own accord; to mutter with one's self, and utter 
ambiguous and broken words; to burst forth 
into exclamations, and pour out virulent and of- 
fensive language unworthy of a modest man ; to 
complain to others, to exaggerate everything 
and raise commotions about trifles. Likewise, to 
use harsh words, and exceed the limit of gentle- 
ness, when others are to be justly reproved. 
Also, to contend with obstinacy and impatience 
in disputations and other controversies of any 
kind. 

4. The following acts regard facts and deeds: 
to assail a neighbor contrary to justice and 
equity, to avenge injuries in any way, and to of- 
fend any one in any manner against the fifth 
commandment. To this head may be referred 
churlishness, rudeness and stubbornness of man- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 123 

ners; sowing disputes and discords, taking sides 
among those at variance, reporting to and fro 
the sayings or doings of others, even in joke to 
give others reason to be indignant, and to be de- 
lighted at others" impatience. Likewise, to de- 
mand punishment of judges with the view, not 
of justice, but of spite and hatred ; to be carried 
away by too great ardor of excitement in a just 
chastisement ; through disdain to avoid the com- 
pany of others, and betake one's self to solitary 
places; to refuse pardon to those asking for it; 
to shun intercourse with him, by whom one 
thinks himself injured, and to manifest other 
external signs of enmity towards him. 



§2.— On the Wide Diffusion of Anger. 
1. Anger surpasses the other vices in this, 
that affections of the rest are confined to certain 
fixed limits; to anger nothing is untouched, 
nothing unapproachable. For, first, we are ta- 
citly incensed at God, and in adversity complain 
of him after the manner of children, that he op- 
presses and afflicts us, or withdraws the agree- 
able milk of heavenly consolations. To these 
complaints are added certain beginnings of blas- 
phemy, misgivings and little conformity with 
God's will. Next, we are incensed against men, 
because they are troublesome to us, or because 
they despise us, or do not honor us as we desire. 
We are incensed at ourselves, when things do not 



i^4 PABT FIB ST. 

turn out to our expectation, or when we fail in 
what we wish to do or acquire. The brute 
creatures, too, feel the effects of our wrath, as 
horses on a journey, dogs barking on the way, 
noisy little birds, flies and other insignificant 
creatures. Lastly, we exercise our wrath on 
things devoid of sense, which neither deserved 
nor feel it, as when we break a pen, tear up 
paper, and exhibit other signs of anger of the 
same nature. 

2. Impatience on account of adversities, that 
happen to us against health, honor or worldly 
goods, accompanies anger. For by reason of 
the inordinate and vehement desire to be freed 
from them, that possesses us, we give too much 
room for sadness, from which disquiet spring 
many sins against God, against our neighbor, 
against ourselves ; such are weariness of life, de- 
sire of death, harsh and morose demeanor, quar- 
rels, haughtiness, insults, loud declamation, and 
sometimes laying violent hands on one's self 
But this is a peculiarity of anger, that the en. 
raged thinks he always has just cause for his 
anger; for no one becomes angry without cause, 
the choleric man being deceived by an error of 
his judgment. 

3. But the wider the evil of anger is diffused 
the more good it destroys, for it defiles in man 
the image of God, whose works are quiet, dis- 
turbs the conscience, and smothers the spirit. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 125 

By anger wisdom is lost, since "Anger resteth 
in the bosom of a fool" (Eccl. vii, 10) ; justice is 
abandoned, because "The anger of man worketh 
not the justice of God" (James, i, 20); the 
agreeableness of social life is lost, for who will 
be able to dwell with a man whose spirit is prone 
to anger? Anger closes the dwelling of the 
heart against the Holy Ghost, for he rests only 
upon the humble and peaceful; "And his place 
is in peace" (Psalm, lxxv, 3). But the mind, 
void by his departure, becomes the sport of de- 
mons, and the vile slave of every vice. 



§3. — Motives to Excite Hatred of Anger. 

1. Anger is a brief madness, and a sort of in- 
sanity disturbing reason, and, to some extent, de- 
stroying human nature itself. It assumes vast 
proportions, it rages without limit, it seizes all 
things like fire, it spares no one, neither friends 
nor strangers, nor things without feeling and 
life, nor God himself. It perverts the whole 
man, darkens his mind, that he may not perceive 
truth nor follow the admonitions of others; it 
disturbs and vitiates all the affections, all the 
powers and operations of the soul, and so trans- 
forms a man's exterior demeanor that he seems a 
fierce wild beast. For the flaming and sparkling 
eyes of persons so debasing themselves and 
swelling with anger, the high flush in their face 
from blood boiling up from the depths of their 



126 FABT FIBST. 

breasts, their bristling hair, their constrained 
and hissing breath, their groans and bellowings, 
and abrupt speech in words almost inarticulate, 
and their repeated clapping of hands and stamp- 
ing with their feet on the ground, and their en- 
tire body agitated, and their face indicating se- 
vere threats, hideous and dreadful to behold, 
what else do all these prove, but that they, of 
whom anger has taken possession, are by no 
means sound in mind ? You know not whether 
there be a more detestable or ugly vice. Others 
may be concealed, anger displays itself, and 
comes forth into the countenance. This vice has 
the additional misfortune that it is cured with 
the greatest difficulty ; for among the populace 
it brings no shame; on the contrary, it is thought 
creditable to become angry, as if it were an act 
of fortitude. And, therefore, it is hardly be- 
lieved that there is any deformity in this vice, 
nor is it wont to be eagerly shunned, nor is it 
made as much account of as it should. 

2. Anger does not remove, but aggravates the 
evils for which we become incensed; and since 
we can neither regulate all things by our judg- 
ment, nor prevent others saying and doing what 
they like, each according to his own will, many 
things must necessarily happen contrary to our 
way of thinking; wherefore, unless we once and 
for all fortify our mind with abundant patience, 
fresh causes of anger, annoyance and vexation 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 127 

will always exist. As tyrants reduce to servitude 
to themselves those they undertake to defend 
from injuries by others, so anger, while it incites 
a man not to suffer himself to be overcome by 
others, itself basely subjects him to its own sway, 
and like a slave sorely torments him, and in 
shameful ways overpowers, binds and conquers 
him. But we are taught to hate irascibility by 
nature itself, which, to show that we were made 
for humanity and mildness, furnished man with 
no offensive weapons, with which he might 
be able to hurt. Christ, too, who was meek 
and humble of heart, and when he suffered 
threatened not, teaches us by his example. All 
the saints so teach, being most meek and de- 
lighting in abundance of peace. "Forgive, and 
you shall be forgiven," is a saying of the Lord 
(Luke, vi, 37). The same has said (Matt, v, 4, 
9) : "Blessed are the meek: for they shall pos- 
sess the land. Blessed are the peacemakers : for 
they shall be called the children of God." 



§4. — Of the Remote Remedies of Anger. 
L This vice and its roots being discovered in 
us by a diligent examination of conscience, a 
strong hatred against it is to be aroused, and a 
love of the opposite virtue by the reading of 
books treating of this subject, by frequent sup- 
plication to God, by the counsels and admoni- 
tions of superiors. Then let each understand, 



128 PABT FIBST. 

and be fully convinced that he is most miserable, 
and subject to very many misfortunes and sins ; 
wherefore, let him reason thus with himself : if I 
am so vile, yea nothing, far as rests with me, 
what good is due to me? If I am guilty of so 
many sins, whatever I may endure I suffer no 
injury, whereas I deserve much greater afflictions. 
But because we nearly always plead a just and 
lawful cause of anger, it is to be decided, and 
impressed deeply on the mind, that every act of 
anger is bad, if we allow ourselves to be dom- 
inated and disturbed by it; and that, therefore, 
no just cause of its motion can be alleged that 
is conformable to reason. But if we will be an- 
gry, let us be justly so, and with great fruit and 
profit of souls ; let us be angry with our true en- 
emies — the devil, the world and our own selves — 
and let us severely punish our vices; let us be 
incensed against anger itself, and chastise its 
blind frenzy with just and impassioned vehe- 
mence. 

2. To overcome irascibility is the noblest kind 
of victory ; but readily to become enraged, and 
not be able to restrain one's self, is considered 
a most unseemly and unmanly vice. For we 
are angry with some one, because we think our- 
selves ridiculed and despised by him; but he who 
judges himself scorned by another is his infe- 
rior. It must be inferred, therefore, that it is not 
creditable to grow angry with another, as the 



OF THE PUBQATIVE WAT. 129 

vulgar imagine, but the sign of a low and cring- 
ing mind. Revenge is an admission of pain ; it 
is not a great mind that an injury bows down; a 
true judge of self punishes not an injury, because 
he feels it not. When we hear the reviler's voice 
we should at once consider what it becomes us to 
say, not what he ought to hear. Let us say to 
him who provokes us to anger: Your violence 
shall not be able to disturb my mood. Next, let 
us reflect how wrong it is to be incensed with 
any one. For in the first place we irritate to a 
greater degree him with whom we are angry; in 
the next we disturb and involve ourselves in vari- 
ous troubles; lastly, the evil which we thought 
to mitigate bv anger is a££Tavated the more, on 
which account we never attain the desired end; 
but anger, as vices are wont to do, promises med- 
icine and administers poison. 

3. He who utters an offensive word casts a 
burning coal, as it were, upon another. If we 
bear that with calm teniDer, we have extinguished 
the coal on the spot; but if we meditate on the 
word itself, the heart being in a manner fomented 
and heated, irritation of mind is produced ; after- 
wards, if the excitement continue, wood, as it 
were, is heaped on the fire. Then follows the 
desire of revenge, not to be allayed except by 
shedding the blood of our adversary. Thus a 
small spark kindles a great conflagration, and 
(9— Spir. Life.) 



130 PABT FIRST. 

from a thing of little moment great disaster re- 
sults. We must, therefore, resist the begin- 
nings; and if it be necessary sometimes to man- 
ifest, occasionally even to display anger, still we 
should never be led by it. For the anger that 
avenges wrong ought not to precede but follow 
reason, that as the hand-maid of justice it may 
walk in the rear, and not presume to appear in 
front. 

§5. — Of the Causes of Anger, and of Their 
Remedies. 

1. There are three principal causes from 
which an occasion of displeasure and anger is 
wont to arise. The first is found with ourselves, 
when we are prevented from attaining what we 
desire, or keeping what we like. Now, the surest 
remedy for this cause is to moderate every desire 
of honor, profit and pleasure; to cast aside vol- 
untarily those things which we pursue with undue 
affection; to be satisfied with very little, and 
what is necessary; to have the mind quite ready 
for any loss of temporal goods, by considering 
that all human things are perishable, and in a 
manner as brittle as glass. 

2. The second cause of anger proceeds from 
men and their society and intercourse. But in 
relation to this subject three classes of men are 
to be considered, and suitable remedies pre- 
scribed for each, in order that we may be able to 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 131 

endure their conduct. However, peculiar indi- 
viduals must be carefully and prudently observed, 
lest they afterwards seem to us to be such as we 
have determined in our mind, although they may 
not be such in reality. The first class then is of 
those, who seem easily to fall into some fault or 
defect, and on that account provoke us to im- 
patience and anger. That this may not occur, 
it must be decided, in the first place, that we are 
not to judge of others' faults; in the next, that 
at first sight many things appear evil which are 
not so in reality, on account of the relation of 
time and person, and other circumstances. 
Lastly, others' sins are not to be scrutinized, un- 
less the nature of our office demand it; then it 
is necessary to discriminate faults which can, and 
which cannot be excused ; and if a fault cannot 
be extenuated, let the intention be excused, and 
if no reason of excuse be found, let the sin dis- 
please us, not the man, who should be pitied by 
considering human frailty, and procuring the 
amendment of his fault. The second class is of 
persons who are by nature morose, surly, harsh 
and irritable. But we ought to bear patiently 
their infirmity, as sick children are tolerated by 
their mothers ; in manv things we must dissem- 
ble, humor and overlook where lawful ; when it 
cannot be done otherwise, we must resist as pru- 
dently and mildly as possible. The third class 
is of those to whom nothing whatever is agree- 



132 PART FIB ST. 

able, but all things foolish oat of order, exces- 
sive, untimely and absurd. Let him, who despairs 
of being able to endure their intimacy, seek with 
some dexterity to shun it; if this cannot be 
done, recourse must be had to patience, and the 
thoughts turned to better things ; and we must 
beware lest we appear to despise them, and, there- 
fore, a pleasing countenance must be shown them, 
and the gentlest answer given to their questions. 
3. The third occasion of anger arises from 
business affairs, which do not always produce the 
result we desire, and on that account excite many 
troubles in an undisciplined mind. But this 
cause can be cut off by the following remedies : 
The value of everything is to be estimated, things 
of much importance are to be distinguished from 
those of little weight, that due attention mav be 
paid to each. Everything must be done in its 
proper place, time and order, that confusion and 
disturbance may be avoided. We must beware, 
lest we allow ourselves to be hard pressed for 
time, otherwise it will scarcely happen that we 
fall not often into anger. We should be con- 
vinced that all human affairs are so uncertain and 
changeable, that many things may happen con- 
trary to our expectation ; wherefore the mind 
must be prepared patiently and calmly to bear 
any contingency, by proposing to ourselves be- 
fore the business whatever we are able to endure, 
whatever can and is wont to oc3ur. We must 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 133 

bear in mind that everything, even the most 
trivial and insignificant, comes to pass by the will 
and permission of divine Providence, to whose 
direction it behooves us to be subject, for though 
unwilling, we shall be so nevertheless. But if 
we shall have willed nothing except what God 
wills, nothing shall ever happen against our will. 



§6. — Of the Remedies of Anger — (continued.) 
1. If we wish not to be angry, let us not be 
inquisitive. It is not expedient to see and hear 
everything. He receives no hurt, who is un- 
conscious of the like. Let us not too readily lis- 
ten to slanderers. Let this vice of human nature 
be suspected by and known to us; namely, that 
we gladly credit what we involuntarily hear, 
and are angry before we can judge. Time is 
always to be given, the proper moment discloses 
the truth. Many lie in order to deceive, many, 
because they are deceived. He, who says any- 
thing secretly, nearly says it not. What more 
unfair than to believe in secret, and be openly 
angry? It is the part of a mean and worthless 
man to seek satisfaction from his satirist. Thus 
the enormous wild beast coolly regarded the bark- 
ing of dogs; thus the angry wave dashes against 
the huge cliff. He who is angry is moved. Let 
each one say tojiimself: Who am I, whose 
ears it is impious to offend? Let him say tc 
satan • though you do your utmost, you shall 



134 PABT FIB ST. 

never be able to cloud my serenity. That great 
incentive of anger, suspicion, is to be removed 
from the mind, and the cause of one absent 
pleaded against ourselves ; and we must also con- 
sider what he, against whom we are incensed, 
may at any time have benefited us, that his of- 
fence may be redeemed by his merits. But no 
one ought to be repulsed, no one despised. It 
may at any moment come to pass, that we have 
to fall at the feet of him, to whom we now in 
anger refuse pardon. And when we learn that 
some one has spoken ill of us, let us examine our 
conscience, whether we have first spoken ill of 
him. Then let us think of how many persons 
we thus speak. The consideration of ourselves 
will render us more moderate, if we shall have 
asked ourselves: whether we, too, have been 
guilty of anything similar? For he who con- 
siders that he has many things, in which himself 
must be borne with, Dears an injury done him. 
We all have a tendency to evil, we ought to be 
indulgent to our common vice; and if we have 
done nothing such, on the other hand we are li- 
able to do it ( i Cor. x, 12) : "He that thinketh 
himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall." 
2. Every wrong done us is permitted by the 
Lord, or is intended for our spiritual good. It 
would be folly to refuse medicine prescribed by 
the wisest of physicians, and reject it with indig- 
nation. We should rather imitate David, who. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 135 

lashed by Semei's curses, said (2 Kings, xvi, 
10) : "The Lord hath bid him curse David; and 
who is he that shall dare say, why hath he 
done so?" But if at any time we shall have 
judged it expedient to answer an insult offered 
us, lest by our silence our neighbor be provoked 
to greater indignation; let the reply be such, as 
the Wiseman exacts, while he says (Prov. xv, 
1): "A mild answer breaketh wrath." For 
soothing speech and humble apology repress 
anger, mitigate frenzy, and incline the mind to 
calmness. 

3, In time of peace the spirit is to be fortified 
for war; and the mind is to be strengthened 
against all the assaults of anger by recalling to 
memory former combats, whence they originated, 
how we behaved in the contest, and where we 
failed by omission or commission. The effect of 
these will be, that the foreseen darts are less apt 
to strike us, and that past disaster is converted 
into present success for those who once were 
worsted. We will load ourselves with unmerited 
wrongs, and will feign that everything the most 
outrageous is said in reproach of us by others, 
and we will do what reason shall advise to be 
done in real battle. That man has calumniated 
our good name, he has been grievously offended 
at us. What are we to do here ? I do not believe 
it; if he has said anything, he said it under an 
erroneous impression, with no bad intention, with 



136 PART FIRST. 

laudable zeal, he wished to benefit me, or else I 
gave him reason, and I have often spoken amiss 
of him ; truly I committed that fault, I am guilty, 
and it is right that I patiently suffer the penalty. 
But I am assailed for nothing, and without fault 
of mine. What of that? I will imitate Christ, 
and say with the Prophet (Ps. xxxviii, 10): "I 
was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because 
thou hast done it; ? ' and (Ibid, xxxvii, 15): "I 
became as a man that heareth not: and that hath 
no reproofs in his mouth." But they who per- 
secute me are wicked. And I, by good offices, 
shall stop the mouths of them that speak lies, 
and I shall be satisfied with the esteem of the 
good and the approval of my own conscience. 
We must also deal with friends so that they may 
try our patience, and treat us with reproaches 
and insults, that from the jests of these friends 
we may learn calmly to endure the artifices of 
enemies. 

4. When we perceive that we are provoked to 
anger, the first sparks are to be crushed by force, 
either by reciting some prayer, or by turning the 
attention to other things, or by practically con- 
sidering what anger is, whence it springs, what 
are its effects, whither it tends, of what goods it 
deprives us, in what evils it involves us. But if 
the emotion be very strong, all care is to be taken 
to suppress it within, and not suffer it to appear 
without by word, sigh or any external sign. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 137 

And if, perchance, some word escape us, or any- 
thing happen, by which our neighbor may be 
offended, a reconciliation must be brought about 
as speedily as possible, either by humbly clear- 
ing or accusing ourselves, and asking pardon, as 
the occasion shall demand. In fine, it is expedi- 
ent to overcome affronts by kind acts, as it is 
written (Matt, v, 44): "Do good to them that 
hate you." Then, if we have erred somewhat in 
this line, it will be of great service to chastise 
ourselves with certain penalties ; for, as mad-men 
are restrained by stripes, so this irrational move- 
ment of the mind is to be disciplined and subdued 
by pain. 

§7. — Of the Signs of Subdued Anger. 

1. The following are the indications of vic- 
tory over anger : restraining at least external mo- 
tions, external manifestations of wrath, as it is 
written (Ps. lxxvi, 5;: < ; I was troubled, and I 
spoke not;" repressing internal motions of anger, 
and deeming them abominable, and unbecoming 
a prudent man ; for this is the way to quench the 
inward flames of wrath, namely, when we begin 
already to be ashamed of ourselves, and mindful 
of our dignity curb the irrational tendency to 
anger; when irritation begins from any just 
cause, taking the utmost care that it does not 
precede but follow reason, as the Psalmist says 
(iv, 5) : 4i Be ye angry, and sin not;" if any one 



138 PAIiT FIB ST. 

treat us wrongfully, if any one provoke us to 
anger, derogating nothing on that account from 
the charity due to him, but overcoming evil by 
good, cordially forgiving the same, praying fer- 
vently to God in his behalf, and excusing him 
both with others and with ourselves. Finally, we 
shall understand that we are completely cured of 
the plague of anger, not only when we will pray 
for him who has afflicted us, or bestow gifts on 
him; but much more, when, on learning any mis- 
fortune of his, whether temporal or spiritual, we 
shall judge ourselves to be as distressed with in- 
nermost grief, as if that evil had befallen a very 
dear and particular friend. 



Chapter VII. — Of Envy. 
Enyy is a sadness on account of the goods of 
others, a hatred of another's happiness, a grief 
begotten of a neighbor's prosperity, inasmuch as 
another's good is deemed our own evil, because 
it exceeds, diminishes or dims our good. Now, 
there are four kinds of goods by which envy is 
fostered: To the first kind belong riches, hon- 
ors, dignities, intimacy with the powerful, grace- 
fulness and beauty of person, renown, praise, 
reputation, good opinion and popular applause. 
The second consists in letters, in learning, 
science, industry and other distinguished qual- 
ities which regard the intellect. The third is 
made up of holiness, virtues and spiritual goods. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 139 

And the fourth, of grace and fraternal charity, 
when one would not wish his neighbor to have 
grace and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which is 
one of those most grievous sins that are said to 
be against the Holy Ghost. 



§1.-0/ the Acts of Envy. 
1. The more usual acts of envy are these: 
to make little account of any goods whatever of 
others, whether human or divine, whether of 
mind or body, whether they belong to some pri- 
vate man or to a whole family, community or 
order; tacitly to wish that affairs may not suc- 
ceed with others as they would desire; not to be 
moved by nor sympathize with others' reverses; 
to rejoice if things turn out ill for any one, and 
to be grieved at their prosperous issue ; to bear 
reluctantly, because others excel in learning, vir- 
tue and honor; to pass over and cover in silence 
the good qualities of these latter, when an occa- 
sion of making them public presents itself, but if 
they have any imperfection that either shows the 
semblance of evil, or that may be distorted to a 
bad sense, to disclose it, not without exaggera- 
tion, that their good estimation may be lessened; 
to be in some sense separated and estranged in 
feeling from those with whom all things succeed 
well, and not to be ready to assist them, as fra- 
ternal charity might require. 



140 PABT FIBST. 

2. To detract from the praises of others; to 
speak of them faintly and coldly ; to extol them, 
as if in derision, with a kind of hyperbolical and 
ironical exaggeration ; to hear reluctantly the 
speech of their panegyrists, to interrupt it, turn 
it into ridicule and jest, and to mingle evil re- 
marks; and, on the other hand, to listen eagerly 
to those disparaging them ; to disclose the hid- 
den faults of others or invent false ones, whether 
that be done openly, because one rejoices at an- 
other's infamy, or under the mask of charity; 
when things are reported to the proper persons 
with a bad intention, the evils only being told, 
and the good points passed over in silence; to 
calumniate a neighbor's evident virtue, and by 
mutterings turn it to evil ; to wrest everything to 
a bad sense, and when a work cannot be con- 
demned, to condemn the intention known to God 
alone; to make actual efforts to drive anyone 
from his state, rank or office; to bring about in 
any way, that one may not attain what he wishes, 
and to impede the good works of others by calum- 
nies and detractions. 



§2. — Incentives to Halved of Envy. 
1. Nothing happens more pernicious to the 
human mind than the disquiet of envy. For the 
envious man pines at the copious possessions of 
others, nor does he waste away and grieve for 
his own ills, but for others' goods; he makes 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 141 

others' good his own punishment, and he has as 
many tormentors as he whom he envies has eulo- 
gists. Envy consumes the envious as rust does 
iron. And though it may not hurt others in the 
least, it hurts its author himself, who, through 
hatred of the man, avenges the gift of God in 
man, and is tortured by another's good luck. 
Hence the threatening countenance, the tierce 
look, the paleness in the face, the quivering in 
the lips; hence hatred, detraction, harsh words, 
unbridled reproaches; hence the clouding of 
reason, deteriorating of the body, and inciting to 
every evil. The other vices are opposed to some 
certain good; this is the foe of every good, and 
perverts the nature of all things. If any one 
has an adversary, he renders him gentle by serv- 
ices; gifts conferred on the envious man irri- 
tate him to a greater degree, and the more he re- 
ceives the more indignant is he on account of his 
benefactor's power. The envious person is quite 
like the devil, who is ever bent on mischief to 
men, though he know his penalty to be increased 
thereby. 

2. He who envies another, from the very fact 
that he envies, by his own judgment demeans 
himself from his rank; for neither can we envy, 
except those whom we think better or more dis- 
tinguished in something than we. Wherefore 
this vice, since it is the characteristic of a low 
and small mind, is very difficult to amend, for we 



142 PART FIRST 

are ashamed to disclose it to our spiritual Father, 
and seek certain absurd and superfluous causes of 
dislike, of which, because they are false, the cure 
is vain, while the deadly virus lies concealed in 
the marrow. But envy is chiefly opposed to the 
divine goodness, a peculiarity of which is to com- 
municate all its goods, wherefore this vice renders 
us unworthy of divine gifts. It is opposed to the 
state of the blessed in heaven, who rejoice in the 
felicity of others as their own. It is opposed to 
the law of nature, which commands that we wish 
or wish not to others those same things we rightly 
wish and wish not to ourselves. It is opposed to 
christian charity, which does well by all, even ene- 
mies, and, rejoicing in the goods of others, enjoys 
their participation. Finally, it is opposed to the 
charity of the saints and of Christ our Lord, 
who have shared all goods with us. 



§3. — Of Remedies for the Extermination of 

Envy, 

1. First, the axe is to be applied to the roots 
of this vice, which are pride, covetousness, anger, 
dislike, and other evils of the same kind, which 
must be sought out and cut off by falling down 
humbly in the presence of God. Next, the first 
movements of envy are to be carefully watched 
and repressed; and if one perceive that he is de- 
prived of any gifts of nature which others pos- 
sess, he ought to persuade himself that that is 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 143 

more expedient for his salvation ; wherefore, let 
him recognize even in the gift denied him a di- 
vine blessing, as it truly is. Again, the enemy is 
to be dared, by imagining that all sorts of good 
have happened to him against whom envy began 
to arise, and, on the other hand, very many evils 
to ourselves; then contrary acts, as of gladness 
and congratulation, are to be performed; besides, 
thanks are to be offered to God for his good luck, 
as if it were our own; lastly, God is to be im- 
plored, that he may preserve to him and increase 
the same blessings. 

2. A great desire of perfection and love of our 
eternal country must be excited in us. For this 
love expels that of earthly things, and along with 
it envy and spite. What prince or exalted noble- 
man ever envied him who sews shoes well, who 
cooks pulse well or plies some other humble craft? 
For their mind, intent on more elevated things, 
slights and spurns these low occupations. In 
like manner, if we covet eternal things, we shall 
never be tormented with envy of what is tem- 
poral. For verily there is nothing great and de- 
sirable in this world, neither wealth, nor power, 
nor dignities: and they who abound in these 
things deserve a feeling of pity rather than envy. 
But even supposing that our neighbor should lose 
those goods, the possession of which both digni- 
fies him and depresses us with envious grief; still, 
neither shall they on that account pass into our 



144 PABT FIB ST. 

possession, nor as they flow downward from him 
shall they descend upon us. But it is most fool- 
ish, on account of this baleful affection, to wish 
to be deprived of others' goods, which through 
charity would become ours. 



§4. — Of the Signs of Vanquished Envy. 
1. We shall be aware that the most baneful 
sin of envy is then extinguished in us, when we 
have no feeling of pain at the good and prosper- 
ity of others; if we are glad of them, and truly 
and heartily congratulate our brethren in the en- 
joyment of these goods ; if we gladly, and with 
tranquil mind and cheerful will, hear of the hap- 
piness and good fortune of our neighbors; if we 
ourselves sincerely laud our brethren, and led by 
the spirit of sweetness and charity extol and cel- 
ebrate their pre-eminent words or deeds, their 
virtues and merits, whatever they may be; if we 
bear with regret others' trials, reverses, illness 
and misfortunes of any kind, and hasten at once 
to console and help them ; if we prudently hide 
our brethren's errors and defects, and are silent 
about them, especially before those who can 
bring them no remedy; if, when a brother's 
fault is disclosed by others, we endeavor to ex- 
tenuate and excuse it; if we desire eternal and 
permanent goods alone; for the love of eter- 
nity is the death of envy; nor can he who 
covets only eternal, envy others temporal goods. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 1-45 

Chapter VIII. — Of Sloth. 

The Greek word for sloth signifies sadness, 
which so depresses a man, that he takes no pleas- 
ure in doing anything. It is twofold: one joined 
with mortal sin, when one loathes all spiritual 
exercises as doleful and troublesome, and after 
the first fervor returns to the former cares of the 
world and to former sins. From this arise con- 
tempt of laws, rejection of discipline, rnurmur- 
ings, scandals, apostacy and despair. The other 
is indeed without grievous sin, but results from 
a spirit that is wearied, and languishes from want 
of restraint on the passions, and over-burden of 
cares, or even is deterred by the vastness of the 
enterprise and the difficulty of the way, and la- 
bors under weariness and disgust of spiritual 
things. Our discourse is to be of this second 
species. 



§1.— Of the Acts of Sloth. 
1. The following are the acts of sloth: 1) To 
give one's self up to laziness, not to read, not to 
pray, to fly labor in everything, to be busied 
with vain things. 2) To wander through ihe 
house and through the streets for the purpose 
of beguiling the time; to read or think over 
unprofitable things, to seek pleasures of mind or 
body, to love sports and hilarities, to omit many 
things and indulge in others, under the plea of 
(10-Spir. Life.) 



146 PART FIB ST, 

weariness and infirmity. 3) To delight in idle 
conversations, avoid the company of spiritual 
men, despise grave persons, form dangerous 
intimacies, waste time in superfluous visits, and 
act sluggishly and remissly in religious exercises. 
4) To seek consolations in creatures, in food, 
drink, sleep, dress and furniture ; to search not 
for what serves necessity, but pleasure. 5) To 
note the actions of others, to judge the morals 
of the good, whom the lukewarm always envy, 
to detract from their virtues, to assail them with 
insults, and pronounce them fools and hypo- 
crites. 6) To long for an idle life, to think that 
many privileges are due ta one's self, to speak 
without reserve on all subjects, to canvass for 
high and splendid offices, and to behave capri- 
ciously and be annoying to others in those one 
fills; to confuse all things, to expedite nothing, 
to grow tired immediately at the beginning of a 
work, and turn attention to other things. 7) To 
treat of divine things coldly and peevishly, to 
read, hear, meditate on them without feeling of 
mind, to manifest hardness and stolidity towards 
divine impulses, to be not at all or little solicitous 
about advancement in virtues and zeal for perfec- 
tion. 8) Never, or only superficially, to examine 
one's conscience, never to recollect one's self by 
true introspection, reluctantly to get clear of 
the society of men, never to shun the occasions 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 147 

of sins, to ponder over former morals, and to 
think worldly men happy. 



§2. — Of Some Incentives Towards Shunning 
Sloth. 

1. We can prove by many reasons that sloth 
ought to be avoided. For, in the first place, sloth- 
fulness is exceedingly opposed to human nature, 
to which it is peculiar to act, with reason and for 
an end; but the sluggard does nothing, or acts 
rashly and foolishly. In the next place, this 
vice is so much the more pernicious, as it is 
more difficult to discover. For the slothful man, 
though he omit many things, still, as he openly 
commits no evil, seems to himself conscious of 
no fault, cloaking his supineness under the law- 
ful appearance of prudence, custom or necessity. 
Then he who has given himself up to shameful 
ease, abuses time, a most precious thing, on 
which depends eternal misery, or felicity, the 
loss of which is irreparable. ' 'Therefore, whilst 
we have time, let us work good" (Gal. vi, 10), 
because "the night cometh, when no man can 
work" (John, ix, 4). 

2. The tepid in virtue are ever full of fear and 
bitterness, they live in perpetual contention, they 
brood over their suffering with continual weari- 
ness of themselves. For "The sluggard willeth, 
and willeth not," and "Desires kill the slothful" 
(Prow xiii, 4, and xxi, 25), Then, because they 



148 FABT FIBST. 

reluctantly undertake work, the burden of the 
divine law, that in itself is very light becomes to 
them very heavy, and though they labor much 
they profit little, falling at length under that 
curse (Apoc. iii, 16): "Because thou art luke- 
warm, I will begin to vomit thee out of mv 
mouth." But, as inhuman affairs, he who is lazy, 
and manages negligently the family property, 
easily falls into poverty; so the slothful are ever 
needy in things divine, are ever in a state of 
aridity, devoid of those rewards and blessings 
which are prepared by God for zealous laborers. 
You may rightly compare the tepid to hoops, 
that are indeed driven round in a circle, but 
make no advancement, and are so whirled by the 
lash that they, nevertheless, always remain fixed. 
3. Sloth is most pernicious both to the slug- 
gard himself and to others. To the sluggard, 
because he both neglects many goods and com- 
mits many sins (Eccl. xxxiii, 29): "For idleness 
hath taught much evil." And the slothful man 
is exposed to manifest danger of eternal damna- 
tion, deprived of arms with which to protect him- 
self against the devil's assaults, like a powerful 
city without encompassing walls, pervious to the 
enemy on every side, But slothfulness hurts 
others, because, as far as in it lies, it takes away 
from the resources of man all the arts and all 
the goods that are acquired only by labor ; and 
the slothful are, as it were, drones, ruinous to 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 149 

every community and family, a burden to super- 
iors, who can utilize their help in no business, 
unprofitable to all. Then they nullify the merits 
of Christ, and make void those means which he 
supplied us for working; they cheat God of that 
glory which, through our good works, he expects 
both from us and from others, on which account 
this vice is most odious to God. 



§3._ Of Remedies for Sloth. ■ 

1. Because in everv a'ood work the sluggard 

considers the trouble and fatigue rather than the 
fruit of his labor, the best remedy against this 
vice will be frequently to meditate on the utility 
of holy practices, and convince himself that a 
single elevation of the mind to God, a single gen- 
uflection for his sake, is more precious than all 
the wealth and treasures of the world. Then it 
is necessary to conceal the labor itself, as when a 
single hour is to be employed at prayer, and that 
seems too troublesome, let him who has to pray 
by way of artifice persuade himself, that this la- 
bor is to be undergone only for a quarter of an 
hour, at the expiration of which he will prolong 
the time of prayer to another quarter, and will 
repeat that so many times until the hour shall 
have passed. Or perhaps he will apply the first 
quarter to prayer or any spiritual exercise for the 
love of God; the second for the love of Christ, 
the Redeemer ; the third for the love of the 



150 PABT FIB ST. 

Blessed Virgin ; the fourth for the love of the 
Saints ; thus he will easily shake off sluggishness, 
and be excited to fervor. It is also to be consid- 
ered that we are overcome by lukewarmness and 
sloth, because we fear the labor necessary for ac- 
quiring virtue ; but while we decline a very slight 
grievance, we incur a much greater resulting from 
tepidity. It is better, therefore, to labor profit- 
ably in fervor of spirit, than to be tortured by 
hurtful efforts in indolence of mind. But if we 
would not fall into this vice, the intercourse of 
persons addicted to slothful ease must be shunned, 
and care must be taken always to preserve in our 
spirit the glow of piety, and to obey the divine 
inspirations. 

2. In the combat itself we must not fly, nor 
relax in the work begun; nay, we must bravely 
resist the tempting vice, although some alacrity 
and fervor of spirit be wanting. Then certain 
times, in which the mind is wont to be more 
prone to sluggishness, are to be noted, that we 
may then rouse ourselves more fervently for the 
contest. These are when the heat or cold is 
more violent; when the hour of meals is re- 
tarded, and after victuals; when desolation or 
any adversity falls upon us; when something 
that is really arduous, or contrary to our pro- 
pensity, is to be done. But at the commence- 
ment of each action one ought to propose to 
himself the most excellent end; that is, the 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 151 

greatest glory of God. The heart, too, is to be 
carefully guarded, lest it stray capriciously. The 
manner, also, in which all things are to be done, 
must be prescribed for one's self, and a fixed 
time determined for each business. In fine, ev- 
ery labor is to be undertaken cheerfully, and we 
ought firmly believe that there is none of those 
things, which are done on account of charity or 
obedience, that we may not be able to perform 
with the aid of divine grace. 

3. Whatever was hard, whatever was bitter in 
unpleasant affairs has been taken aw r ay by Christ 
our Lord; he himself with his blood has ac- 
quired for us strength and grace to overcome 
sloth; he has taught, that unprofitable servants, 
who bury in the earth the talents entrusted to 
them, are to be severely punished. If we wish 
to attain the glory of the Saints, w r e ought to 
follow close in their footsteps, and imitate their 
fervor and patience. What severe labors worldly 
men themselves endure through love of perish- 
able things ! With what readiness and perse- 
verance they bear every adversity for the sake 
of empty honor or dishonorable profit ! Let us 
blush to be remiss in a matter of such moment 
as is a happy and endless eternity, the everlast- 
ing salvation of our soul. Much yet remains to 
be paid in satisfaction for our sins ; at each mo- 
ment death threatens, which, once it shall have 
seized us, leaves no room for good works. Let 



152 PABT FIBST. 

us, therefore, say with the Prophet (Ps. lxxvi, 
11): "And I said, Now have I begun;" and 
(Ibid, xvii, 30) : "Through my God I shall go 
over a wall." 



§4. — Of the Signs of Sloth Overcome. 
He can be assured that he has overcome sloth, 
who, fearing every sin and each lightest imper- 
fection, hastens with great zeal to reach the 
height of christian perfection he has proposed 
to himself; who performs the usual duties of 
his calling at the proper time, nor omits them 
except for a very grave reason; who finds him- 
self active and prompt for any work of superero- 
gation; who observes God's commandments and 
the rules of his state with the greatest accuracy, 
not neglecting anything at all, however trifling it 
may appear; who flies the company of the luke- 
warm ; who hates drolleries and recreations ; who 
shuns every occasion of imperfections, and knows 
how to devote his time to himself alone and to 
God; who proposes to himself the noblest aim 
of perfection, and seeks and selects means suited 
to this end, and, as far as he is able, carries them 
into effect ; who ever censures himself as a tepid 
and unprofitable servant, and one that is far from 
fulfilling his duty, and, in fine, always aspires to 
higher things. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 153 

Chapter IX. — Of Vainglory and Ambition* 
Vainglory is a very destructive vice, as is also 
ambition, of which I shall treat conjointly, as 
they are of kindred malice. Vainglory is an in* 
ordinate desire of glory and human praise. Am- 
bition is an inordinate desire of honors and dig- 
nities. 

§1. — Of the Acts of Vainglory and Ambition. 
1. The following are the principal acts of 
these vices : To turn good works and spiritual 
pursuits towards gaining the applause of men, by 
silence and fasting, by plain dress to aim at the 
influence and reputation of a saintly person be- 
fore men; to seek and desire honors and offices, 
deem one's self deserving of dignities and hon- 
ors. Besides, the ambitious man is presump- 
tuous, attempts things beyond his abilities ; if he 
is promoted to any rank he takes the greatest 
complacence therein, devises new opinions in the 
sciences, meddles in every affair, abandons his 
own business to take charge of that of others, 
if he fears that any one can snatch glory from 
him, he hates and tears him to pieces, and 
gives a bad interpretation of all his deeds. He 
shrewdly cultivates humility, that he may re- 
move from himself the suspicion of ambition; 
he himself finds fault with his own works that 
they may be commended by others; he hides his 
vices as much as possible, and if some of them 
are noticeable, he tries to excuse them. He 



154 PABT FIB ST. 

studiously seeks the friendship of men who are 
grave and in high authority; he is anxious to 
visit and be visited by them; he shuns the more 
humble and the poor. 

2. He is ostentatious and a boaster, frequently 
talks of his affairs with a sort of gust; is tickled 
when he is praised by others, and hears speech 
of this kind with the greatest zest; he endeavors 
to cause indirectly an occasion of speaking pom- 
pously of his affairs, and often elicits conversa- 
tions in which he may be commended. If he is 
of noble birth, he becomes haughty on that ac- 
count; if he has poor and humble parents he 
blushes. He lowers the merits of others that he 
may hiddenly exalt his own ; he takes it ill if it 
be suspected that he is slighted by any one in 
something, if credence be not given to all he 
says. If removed from the rank which he hap- 
pened to hold, he complains, becomes obstinate 
and disobedient, raises disputes, sows dissen- 
sions, hates his successor, annoj^s others, and is 
a burden to himself. He does not hesitate to do 
many infamous things in order to protect his 
reputation; he lies, detracts, disputes, and with 
preposterous zeal prefers his own to the divine 
glory. 

§2. — For What Reasons We Ought Fly 

Ambition and Vainglory. 
1. Vainglory is a sweet poison, a secret 
venom, the moth of virtues, the despoiler ot 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 155 

good works, It is a rock which we ought by all 
means to avoid, unless we wish miserably to suf- 
fer shipwreck on the way to heaven. It is a very 
fine worm, which, attaching itself to the upright 
and simple intention of our actions, rends and 
gnaws it, while by an enormous sacrilege it trans- 
fers to the creature the glory which God has re- 
served to himself alone. The other vices are 
uniform, this is varied, covert and deceitful; it 
springs alike both from good works and from 
bad, and, like an onion, it has many folds. Is 
one splendidly dressed? he is tainted with this 
plague. Is he poorly clad? ostentation is again 
present. If he fasts, he vainly glories ; if he 
privately performs the fast, he vaunts himself 
anew as discreet and prudent. Nay, even from 
its very death arises vanity, as when, on con- 
quering a motion of glory, one vainly extols him- 
self for this same victory. 

2. The ambitious man continually waits on 
the will of others in the worst kind of slavery, 
exposed to envy, plots, enmity, the eyes and 
remarks of the populace, so that he cannot enjoy 
the peace of mind w T hich he promised himself 
in honors. He is led to good works not by true 
virtue, but by the most vulgar breeze of popular 
breath; and when he chooses to have his virtue 
divulged, he strives not for virtue but glory. On 
account of the vilest pittance of human praise he 
undertakes insupportable burdens, by which he 



156 PABT FIBST. 

is miserably oppressed ; and while he seeks the 
applause of the silly mob, he loses the reward of 
eternal life. He solicits an elevated office that 
he may appear dignified before men, which if he 
happen to gain, instead of the glory he desired, 
he often finds ignominy ; for on occasion of bus- 
iness transactions he displays many vices, which 
before lay concealed, and from his high position 
are manifested more widely and clearly* His 
soul fluctuates with perpetual movements like 
the agitated sea; for since the honor he covets 
is in the power of others, and he has many op- 
ponents, he must necessarily be continually dis- 
turbed by fear, suspicion, hope, despair, and 
other affections. He is like a monster partly 
fierce and savage, partly gentle and tame; for 
he is ferocious and stern towards inferiors, whom 
he thinks likely to be an obstacle to his acquiring 
honors; but towards superiors, from whom he 
hopes or fears, he is flattering and fawning, 
more timid and obsequious than any slave. 

3. Smoke vanishes in ascending, because of 
its levity, so, likewise, honors. Let us turn our 
eyes to all that have ever been conspicuous for 
glory; where is their glory now? Where their 
renown ? Where their riches and dignities ? Have 
they not withered like grass, and disappeared as 
a shadow or as smoke? Therefore, true honor 
is to be sought in God and from God : "For not 
he, who commendeth himself, is approved; but 
he whom God commendeth." (2 Cor. x, 18.) 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 157 

The honor that springs not from true virtue is 
vile and puerile; for if they, who do us honor, 
think us unworthy of it, they more truly mock 
than honor us; if they erroneously judge us 
worthy, our own conscience is not deceived. 
Wherefore, unless we wish to be willingly bereft 
of reason, we shall think it no less foolish to 
delight and revel in undeserved honor, than if a 
person were to glory in another's possessions, 
and destitute of all property at home, should 
boast of being commonly saluted as a rich man 
or a king. Whoever, therefore, is conscious of 
his own baseness, ought to blush when he is 
honored, because he deceives others, and is not 
such as he is deemed. Christ, our Lord, shun- 
ning his own honors, always sought his Father's 
glory alone, nor was there ever any saint who 
has not been also a despiser of glory and digni- 
ties. We ought to imitate these in this life, if 
we desire to be partners of their glory in heaven. 
Nor is reliance to be placed in our works, how- 
ever good and holy, for our justice itself is in- 
justice when brought to the test of divine justice, 
and what is brilliant in the performer's estima- 
tion, becomes despicable in the rigid inquest of 
the Judge. 

§3. — Of the Remedies of Vainglory and Am- 
bit ion. 

1. Let him, who is tempted by the desire or 
ambition of honors, first, resolve and firmly pro- 



158 PART FIBST. 

pose with himself not only to admit no sin, even 
the lightest, for the sake of any glory whatever, 
but even to abstain from anything that might be 
an aid to the acquisition of honors, such as pres- 
ents, civilities, salutations, and other like things, 
which, though they may be free from sin, are, 
nevertheless, unbecoming a high-minded man, if 
they are done for this end. Let him next re- 
solve not to use virtues themselves for purposes 
of honor, both because to judge one's self worthy 
of any promotion is a mark of a soul that thinks 
not humbly of itself, and because such an opin- 
ion is scarcely without sin, at least venial, and 
is opposed to christian perfection. Again, it is 
necessary to shun all occasions of vainglory, and 
whatever is showy among men; duties of humil- 
ity are rather to be exercised, and mean offices 
chosen; proffered honors are either to be de- 
clined, if possible, or if that cannot be done with- 
out the blemish of obstinacy or disobedience, 
those offices, in which there may be less of glory 
and vanity, are to be selected. 

2. In order to avoid vainglory, let us do all 
our works with an actual intention for the divine 
glory, saying these words of the Psalmist (cxv, 
1): "Not to us, O Lord, not to us: but to thy 
name give glory." Then, after the Savior's say- 
ing (Matt, vi, 3) : "Let not thy left hand know, 
what thy right hand doth," and if we do any 
good, let us willingly conceal it from the eyes of 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 159 

men. But if anything concerning the public is 
to be done, and the business shall have turned out 
favorably, let us thank God on account of the 
public good; but, as to what concerns ourselves, 
let us rejoice at its success, in such manner that 
we may, however, understand that that good 
fortune has happened to our enemy, and may 
know that we must, therefore, be fearful and 
more vigilant. But, if on the other hand, the 
business shall have fared ill, let us rejoice, scoff 
at ambition and be persuaded, that nothing but 
ignominy is our desert. 

3. When we perceive that we are tempted to 
vainglory for a successful transaction, let us con- 
sider the many errors we have been guilty of in 
the very thing we are proud of, and, killing vice 
for vice, let us conclude from that vainglory, 
that we are unworthy of any praise, inasmuch 
as we rashly glory for a very imperfect affair, on 
account of which we ought rather be confounded 
and blush. But if we are praised by others, let 
us think that human praise is nothing else than 
the opinion of men, who are very easily changed, 
and are imbued with many errors, and whose 
judgment is entirely corrupted and depraved. 
After these, let us examine whether that virtue, or 
that good, for which we are lauded, be really in 
us. If it be, the glory is to be referred to God, 
the giver of all goods, from whom we have re- 
ceived both to will and to accomplish; but if we 



160 PABT FIBST. 

have received, why do we glory as if we had not 
received it? If, again, it be not in us, we ought 
to be confounded, considering that on the day of 
judgment things shall appear such as they really 
have been in the sight of God and his angels, by 
whom it is better to be commended than by men. 



§4. — Of the Signs of Expelled Ambition and 
Vainglory. 

1. Sorrow begotten in the mind, when one is 
praised, is an indication of progress in the rejec- 
tion of these vices. For the just are tortured 
by their own praises, and blush, fearing lest they 
may not be within, what they are said without 
to be, lest earthly praise enervate their strength 
of mind, lest the glory due to God alone be 
wrongly ascribed to a creature. Other indica- 
tions are : Constantly and eagerly to expose our 
errors and defects, unless our neighbor's edifica- 
tion demand otherwise ; to hide our good works 
from human eyes, as far as possible, and pru- 
dently to cut short discourses composed of our 
praises; to be sorry, when either those things, 
with which we ourselves are displeased, are com- 
mended in us, or even when minor and insignifi- 
cant goods of ours are over-rated ; to be gladly 
occupied with useful pursuits and works, that 
win little applause; not to covet, yea, even to 
reject, the higher positions and ostentatious offi- 
ces and dignities, unless charity or obedience 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 161 

forbid; to make no account of the opinions and 
sayings of men; neither to be elated by praises 
nor dejected by affronts ; when we see others 
praised and honored by men, not only not to 
covet such praise and honor, but even to despise 
it as a mean and abject thing; finally, to rejoice 
in injuries and insults for Christ, which is the 
noblest manner of imitating our Lord, who is 
therefore said to be "filled with reproaches" 
(Lam. iii, 30), that we might not be ashamed to 
undergo any ignominy for love of him. 



Chapter X. — Of Pride. 
Pride is an excessive desire of one's own su- 
periority, when a man exceeds his degree, and as- 
pires above what he is, what he knows, what he 
is capable of, what he actually performs. It 
is a denying of God, a contemning of men, the 
mother of censure, the augmentation of unfruit- 
fulness, the repudiation of divine aid, the pro- 
moter of errors, the source of anger, the stay of 
demons, 

§1.-0/ the Acts of Pride. 
1. Acts of pride are either interior, which are 
elicited in thought alone; or exterior, which are 
performed by word or deed; and these have ref- 
erence either to God, or to ourselves, or to our 
peighbor. He is proved to be proud towards God, 
" (11— Spir. Life.) 



162 PABT FIBST. 

who uses the goods of mind and body as if they 
proceeded not from God, but from himself, and 
were due to his own merits ; into which vice it is 
easy to fall, though not expressly and incontes- 
tably in name, in reality nevertheless. Its indi- 
cations are: To be too much elated, to take too 
much complacence in these goods, to seek one's 
own glory from them, to be careless and indiffer- 
ent in returning thanks to God, silently to mur- 
mur and grieve if such goods are lacking, or if 
they be withdrawn. 

2. The following acts regard ourselves: To 
magnify ourselves and what belong to us, and to 
be much afflicted when we think ourselves or 
our concerns are neglected by others, or are not 
as much esteemed as we wish and desire ; to be 
immoderately and anxiously solicitous in things 
in any way concerning ourselves; to have regard 
to our own advantages in any business ; vainly to 
exalt ourselves on account of what we do or pos- 
sess; to exult with excessive joy in prosperity, 
and be cast down w T ith immoderate grief in adver- 
sity ; to parade our varied skill without any util- 
ity ; to dispute acutely regarding mysterious con- 
templations and very profound subjects, as if we 
were familiar with them; to wish to be exalted, 
and to excel others in everything; to fancy one 
has good qualities that he lacks, and, if he has 
any such, to imagine them much greater than 
they are; whence it happens, that a person of 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 163 

that character is troubled, if either offices, for 
which he thinks himself adapted, be not assigned 
him, or if he acquire not honors, of which he 
judges himself worthy; and this same man is 
wont to conceive a more hostile feeling against 
those, by whom he believes himself or his in- 
terests to be neglected; to imagine one's self 
great solely on account of freedom from sin, 
though one performs nothing deserving of praise ; 
likewise, to defend one's faults, and hate correc- 
tion, and wish to seem as if impeccable. 

3. These acts have reference to neighbors: 
To be steadfast in one's opinion, and not submit 
to the admonitions of others; to think one's self 
better and more learned than others, and on that 
account attempt things above one's abilities; to 
act f eignedly, and be a hypocrite in all things ; 
to be unwilling to yield to another's will, to 
choose for one's self from the common goods 
what is best and most agreeable, and to seek in 
everything one's own advantage, even at the cost 
of others; rashly to judge, despise and condemn 
what appertains to others, to lessen the praise of 
others, magnify their vices, and interpret in the 
worse sense what is doubtful; to inquire curiously 
into our neighbors' actions, and tacitly compare 
them with our own, fearing lest perhaps we be 
excelled; to be morose, severe and surly, and ar- 
rogate to one's self a sort of license to say or do 
what one pleases in speech, laughter and jokes; 



164 PABT FIBST. 

to show and outwardly manifest in one's gait a 
species of haughtiness with contempt of others. 



§2. — Of Incentives to the Detestation of Pride. 
1. The beginning, source, root and origin of 
all vices is pride ; for the love of self-excellence, 
in which the whole swarm of sins is included, is 
the end at which. the proud man aims. For ev- 
ery sin, that is committed concerning the goods 
of this world, tends to some vitiated excellence, 
or advantage and perfection of man ; wherefore 
every sin is of itself directed to the end, and, as 
it were, the peculiar aim of pride; and so the 
Scripture says (Eccl. x, 15): "Pride is the be- 
ginning of all sin." Pride is a sort of infectious 
and general disease, corrupting the whole body, 
and assailing all the faculties and senses, and 
utterly depraving the soul; whatever is bad it 
makes the worst possible, but it abuses our good 
works themselves for an occasion of sin, that it 
may destroy us by our own goods. It is a hor- 
rible monster, changing and manifold, for it ren- 
ders a man, on the one side, impudent, so that he 
frequents public places, exhibits himself pomp- 
ously and hunts after honor from every quarter ; 
on the other side, it makes him sometimes even 
moderate and humble, that he may the more 
easily attain his desires. Thus he appears a rav- 
enous wolf in sheep's clothing, and virtue is 
forced to subserve vice, and humility pride. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 165 

2. Pride, more than other vices, directly assails 
God; it is like a traitor, inciting the people to re- 
volt; for it tries to detach us from God, our 
Lord and Ruler, and lead us over to the devil. 
Hence God himself chastised the proud with 
most rigorous penalties, because they arrogantly 
usurped the glory due to their supreme Lord, as 
is clear from the examples of Lucifer, Pharao, 
Nabuchodonosor, Herod and others, who were 
cast down into hell, when they would exalt them- 
selves to the heavens. Nor are the proud odious 
to God alone, but they are likewise intolerable to 
every class of men; wherefore, though some per- 
sons may be endowed by nature with praise- 
worthy qualities, nevertheless, on account of arro- 
gance, they are despised by all. And though a 
similarity of vices unites wicked men among 
themselves, there are still altercations without 
end between the proud (Prov. xiii, 10). 

3. The proud can be cured only with the 
greatest difficulty ; because, though they are very 
poor, miserable and naked, still they imagine 
themselves to be rich and opulent, and in need 
of no one. Wherefore, like madmen, they them- 
selves not only seek no advice or medicine, but even 
refuse them when offered, and become incensed 
with their physician. God himself seems to 
abandon those who boastfully presume on them- 
selves; and just men dare not to meet, lest they 
irritate still more, those they see insolently puffed 



166 PABT F1BST. 

up, despisers of persons who offer good counsel, 
fierce and stubborn . But the proud themselves are 
ever anxious, ever uneasy, and are whirled about 
in perpetual motion; they readily suspect that 
they are despised, and exact the penalties of 
their madness from themselves. Pride is, more- 
over, the meanest vice, an evidence of baseness ; 
true nobility is a stranger to elation, where there 
is lustre of life, there is humility also found. 
He is wretched, who thinks he can be despised. 



§3. — Of Remedies for Chasing Away Pride. 
' 1. Since the proud man is so very wretched, 
and so dangerously ill, that on account of mental 
stupor and blindness he does not even feel the 
disease, he ought with all his fervor to have re- 
course to prayer, that he may thereby recover 
sense and light. Wherefore, let him cast himself 
at the feet of the divine Majesty, as a worm or 
most contemptible dust ; and in the guise of some 
guilty subject, whose life is at the beck of his 
prince, let him consider what God, if he will, 
can do to him, how easily he may crush and 
trample and completely reduce him to nothing ; 
from which he shall understand what extreme 
madness it must have been, to provoke so power- 
ful a prince, and undertake anything against him. 
2. That we may the more easily understand 
whence vanity and self-conceit spring up in us, 
let us compare the goods, which appear in our- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 167 

selves, with those of other existing things, grad- 
ually ascending from the lowest to the highest 
beings till we come to the Supreme Omnipotent 
God, the source of all goods ; how small then 
and how trifling in such variety and excellence of 
things will be that particle which, like the small- 
est drop from the boundless ocean, shall reach 
us? We shall know how many and what splen- 
did things, in which others abound, are wanting 
to us. To illustrate this point, take the instance 
of any bishop, who, while he remains in his own 
diocese, is regarded and honored by all ; but if 
he happen to go to Rome, he seems nobody in 
such splendor of numerous prelates. This, too, 
is to be borne in mind, if any little good appear 
in us, that it is from above, descending from the 
Father of lights ; nothing properly belongs to us, 
except nothingness itself. We are like a beggar, 
whom some one of his own accord, led by com- 
passion, clothes and feeds after taking him into 
his house. 

3. Moreover, we ought to be persuaded, that 
whatever goods seem to be in us are very few, 
and received from without, and mingled with 
many evils. How great is the frailty of our 
body ! how great is the misery of our soul ! what 
a variety and multitude of diseases ! how many 
things, which we get by begging from the vilest 
creatures, are necessary to sustain this wretched 
life; and, what is worse, how many sins have we 



168 PABT FIBST. 

committed ! and if God did not preserve us, would 
we not fall into others much more numerous and 
heinous? And so by our vices we pervert, over- 
turn and contaminate the divine goods. Add to 
these, that we can very easily lose divine grace, 
death momentarily threatens, and it is altogether 
uncertain what is to become of us for all eternity. 
Why then art thou proud, O dust and ashes? 
Why dost thou not rather dread the judgment to 
come? Lastly, for chasing away pride it will be 
of much service to remark, that this vice is so very 
evil, that it has God himself for an adversary, 
for (James, iv, 6): "God resisteth the proud;" 
he does not say fornicators nor the irascible, but 
the proud ; for other vices only either recoil upon 
the offenders themselves, or seem to be committed 
against other men ; pride alone reaches to God, 
and, on that account, finds in him a special op- 
ponent. 

§4 — Of the Renunciation of Pride. 
1. That we may destroy pride by its own 
poison, as a specific, it must be considered, on the 
one hand, what the proud man does and aims at; 
for he seems to do and study nothing else than 
to contend with God; and, on the other, the long 
endurance of that supreme Ruler in tolerating 
the most bare-faced insolence of the vilest slave 
is to be carefully weighed. Earthly princes, 
though necessity compels them occasionally to 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 169 

dissemble somewhat, would not bear so long with 
their subjects' f rowardness ; but in God there 
can be no respect of this kind, since he needs not 
our goods. He omnipresent labors for man, so 
to speak, that he may preserve him in life, rescue 
him from dangers, move, lead, bring back,, gov- 
ern and aid him in his actions. But the contu- 
macious man does not so much as direct his eyes 
towards God, he contemns his presence, and im- 
pudently in thought turns hither and thither. 
Nor is God merely present with man, so as to 
bestow and preserve the bounties of nature, but 
much more to confer the gifts of grace ; he 
stands ever at the door and knocks, with noise- 
less words he excites to the pursuit of virtue, 
and offers various occasions of good actions. 
But man, slow and wavering, as if another's 
business were at stake, suffers such bounty to be 
lost, and abuses God's own gifts for the purpose 
of offending him more grievously. 

2. God gave man an immortal soul, created 
for eternal beatitude, susceptible of God himself, 
sealed with the divine image and likeness, a body 
likewise fashioned with the most splendid work- 
manship, furnished with so many senses and 
faculties, that he might devote all these to the 
divine service. But we, after receiving the ben- 
efit, neglect its author, and wrest the instruments 
of divine glory to gratify our desires. He has 
also given us himself in many and wonderful 



170 PABT FIBST. 

ways. But our avarice is shameful; if anything 
is to be done, we inquire whether it be allowed to 
omit it without sin, certain to omit it, if the fear 
of sin- be absent; again, we meanly set down to 
our account whatever we do for God, from whom 
we have received so much without stint ; nor do 
we reflect that we are unprofitable servants, even 
when we shall have done all that we ought to do. 

3. How often has God, while we were his en- 
emies, freely invited us to reconciliation, excited 
us to repentance, freed us from sins, and re- 
ceived us into his favor? And how often have 
we, in violating trust, fallen back into the same 
sins, abusing the divine patience? It is, there- 
fore, just that we present ourselves before Christ 
our Lord, and with shame and tears prostrate 
ourselves at his feet, considering his merits neg- 
lected, his blood trampled on by us. And if we 
now hope to be partakers of divine grace, with 
so much greater humility ought we be subject to 
him, like one who, condemned to death, has been 
saved from hanging by his ruler's kindness. 

4. If at any time pride spring from the sup- 
position that one has done or endured many 
things for God's sake, it will be useful to weigh 
well these words of the Savior (Luke, xvii, 10) : 
"When you shall have done all things, . . . 
say : We are unprofitable servants : we have 
done that which we ought to do." And who is 
he who can venture to assert that he has done 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 171 

all that he ought ? Whence then our vaunting? 
and what are our works, however great and ex- 
traordinary, if we compare them with those 
which Christ has done and suffered for us ? If 
with the highest virtues of the saints? If with 
those which our state requires of us? If with 
God's innumerable favors ? Let us consider how 
great punishments are due to our sins, and we 
shall see that whatever we may suffer is much 
less than they. Lastly, "the sufferings of this 
time are not worthy to be compared with the 
glory to come, that shall be revealed in us." 
(Rom. viii, 18.) 

5. Because vice is driven out by the opposite 
virtue, elation of mind is to be healed by self- 
contempt. Accordingly, we shall suppose that 
all men think ill and speak wrongfully of us; 
that we are a laughing-stock to all, that we are 
esteemed dull of intellect and corrupt in morals. 
But we shall resolve to bear all these patiently, 
after the example of Christ our Lord; yea, even 
of many pagans, keeping silence regarding our 
affairs, gladly acquiescing in the admonitions of 
others, showing humility in every bodily posture 
and style; in fine, rejoicing in every scorn and 
insult, if it be without sin, whereas we deserve 
much greater on account of our sins. 



§5. — Of the Signs of Eradicated Pride. 
1. We shall be aware that pride is shut out 
from us if we be always cautious, always vig- 



172 PABT FIB ST. 

ilant against the shafts of mental elation ; if the 
holy fear of God possess us, and we continually 
preserve humility ; if we firmly believe that only 
evils and sins proceed from us, but that all goods 
come from God; if we subject ourselves to God 
with the innermost feeling of devotion, and for 
his love submit likewise to every human creature ; 
if we in no way covet high station, honorable 
office, and dignities of this life, but deem all 
these as dung, that w 7 e may gain Christ; if we 
suffer ourselves to be abandoned, neglected, de- 
spised and thrust into the meanest place, and 
without any repugnance of mind endure all deg- 
radations, bear with a joyful and patient spirit 
that everything adverse and humiliating should 
happen to us; if we wish to be unknown, and to 
be accounted as nothing, and from the inner- 
most affection of our heart deem ourselves un- 
worthy of any honor, or any good, yea, and of 
life itself. 

Chapter XI. — Of the Capital Vices According 
to a Higher Discernment. 
Hitherto we have explained the acts and rem- 
edies of the capital vices ; now certain spiritual 
and more subtle imperfections, which are wont 
to occur in the matter of each vice, are to be ex- 
posed, that being purified from these we may be 
able the more easily to rise to the attainment of 
virtue. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 17o 

§1. — Of Spiritual Pride. 
Acts of interior and spiritual pride are of the 
following kind: To conceive some satisfaction 
and complacence of self and of one's works, be- 
cause a person observes himself fervent in holy 
things; to think one has by his own industry 
merited the grace of devotion, that he is more 
beloved by God, that he knows better how to use 
God's gifts; to despise and condemn in one's 
heart others who do not admit and praise his 
devotion, nor even advert to it; to long to dis- 
cuss religious subjects before others, and wish to 
teach rather than to learn them; to reach such 
a pitch of folly as to wish that no one else ap- 
pear just; by no means to submit to one's spir- 
itual Master, when he reproves his manner of 
life; but to hold him in detestation, to judge him 
ignorant of spiritual matters, and on that ac- 
count to imagine his own spirit is neither under- 
stood nor known by him ; from excessive self- 
presumption to propose many things for one's 
self to do, but to accomplish little; to desire to 
be acknowledged by others, and, therefore, to 
give external signs of devotion before them by 
sighs, tears, genuflections, raptures and trans- 
ports, which the demon sometimes produces for 
the ruin and fall of souls; to tell one's favorable 
qualities rather than those that are bad; never 
to disclose sins fully and clearly, lest one become 
less m the estimation of confessors ; to seek an 



174 PART FIRST. 

unknown confessor, to whom one may unburden 
his ills ; to be unduly aggrieved for daily imper- 
fections, not on account of God, but for the sake 
of avoiding confusion and trouble ; to hear un- 
willingly the praises of others, and wrongly in- 
terpret others' good actions. 



§2. — Of the Other Vices According to the 
Same Sense. 

1. Spiritual covetousness is discerned from 
the following acts : Not to be satisfied with the 
spirit which one receives from God, and, likewise, 
to be troubled and complain that he finds not in 
spiritual things that consolation which he would 
wish ; never to be satisfied with spiritual advices 
and commands, and to w r aste more time in search- 
ing for and turning over books than in good 
works, making no account of perfect mortifica- 
tion ; to possess golden reliquaries and other such 
articles w 7 ith too much affection, whereas true 
devotion ought to proceed from the heart, not 
from visible things. 

2. The following acts appertain to spiritual 
luxury : Sometimes to feel certain impure mo- 
tions of sensuality in spiritual exercises them- 
selves, either from the craft of demons endeavor- 
ing in that manner to interrupt a man engaged 
in good works, or from the sw r eetness of spiritual 
things, which, overflowing to the body, excites 
these motions in men of delicate complexion, for 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY, 175 

whatever is received must be after the manner of 
the recipient, or from the fear of such commo- 
tions especially in those who are of a melancholy 
disposition; or, in fine, from one's own fault, on 
account of some slight inordinate attachment to 
some creature; under spiritual pretexts to enter 
into particular friendships with certain persons, 
which very often arise from lust, not from the 
spirit; for when love is purely spiritual, as it 
increases the love of God increases, but when it 
is carnal the love of God grows cool, and many 
remorses of conscience spring from such friend- 
ship. 

3. These imperfections usually arise from 
spiritual anger: When spiritual consolations are 
withdrawn, to fall into irksomeness and bitter- 
ness, and so become easily incensed and almost 
intolerable to others; also, with a certain restless 
zeal, to be angry at others' vices, to observe, and 
reprove others with indignation; to be angry, 
likewise, with one's self, on account of the im- 
perfections into which each one habitually falls, 
and to be so impatient, as to wish to acquire sanc- 
tity in one day. 

4. They sin by spiritual gluttony who, in 
spiritual exercises, hunt after delights of the soul 
and sensible consolations, rather than purity and 
true devotion. These are they who, attracted by 
the sweetness which they taste in these exercises, 
without obedience, without discretion, without 



176 PABT FIBST. 

fruit, immolate themselves by various penances 
and bodily afflictions. They are guilty of the 
same vice, who on account of the same sweetness 
by too great importunity extort from their spir- 
itual Fathers permission for the more frequent 
use of the sacraments ; who presume to approach 
them without license, from which rashness they 
rush headlong into great evils; who, when they 
communicate, make every effort, not that they 
may worship God present, but that they may 
elicit some sense of sweetness, which they also 
do in prayer and in every spiritual exercise. As 
a rule, these are lukewarm, addicted to their own 
will, and enemies of mortification and self-denial. 

5. Spiritual envy is, to feel some motions of 
displeasure at others' spiritual good, to bear re- 
luctantly being surpassed by others in the spirit- 
ual career, to be dejected on account of others' 
virtues, and not willingly to hear others' praises, 
and to lessen them. 

6. Lastly, sloth is very subtle : when consola- 
tion is wanting, to have a hatred of spiritual 
things, to leave off the practice of prayer, to 
wish to gratify self and self -delight, rather than 
to fulfill the divine will; likewise, to be affected 
with disgust, when those duties are imposed 
that can delight us with no sweetness; to enter 
on the narrow way of the cross with repugnance, 
and avoid all austerity. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 177 

Chapter XII. — Of Mortification and Its 
Utility. 

Mortification, as the name itself implies, is 
a certain kind of death, that is, the separation of 
the soul from carnal life, a voluntary death, by 
which our old man is entirely taken off, and while 
the natural life remains unimpaired, the animal 
and earthly life is destroyed. For, as the eye dies 
while it is made blind, because it can no longer 
perform the act of vision, so when whatever is 
hurtful and superfluous is amputated from a man, 
the whole carnal man is killed. But both Catho- 
lic faith teaches, and reason proves, that nature 
is not to be destroy edby mortification. The 
Stoics, and some few others of the Christian fold, 
endeavored falsely to defend apathy,. or impati- 
bility. The affections are not of themselves bad, 
whereas they are natural ; nor should we labor 
entirely to extinguish concupiscence and wholly 
suppress sudden motions which precede reason ; 
but we should use every exertion to moderate and 
direct under the control of reason violent emo- 
tions, our senses and all our members and their 
actions, 

§1. — Of the Manner of Exercising Mortifi- 
cation. 
1. He who engages in the practice of mortifi- 
cation, if he desires with profit to govern and 

(12— Spir. Life.) 



178 PABT FIBST. 

restrain himself, ought, in the first place, to refer 
mortification itself to its proper end. Now, its 
end is perfection of life, purity of mind, observ- 
ance of the commandments and acquirement of 
every virtue. In the next place, let him raise his 
mind to higher things, for he who aims at medi- 
ocrity lies at the bottom, and he who resolves to 
fly mendicancy alone, never acquires riches. It 
also contributes very much towards making great 
progress in this practice, to subject one's self 
wholly to divine Providence, humbly to follow 
his will in all cases, whether of prosperity or ad- 
versity, to offer the eternal Father every morti- 
fication in union with the suffeiings and labors 
of our Lord Jesus Christ; from the knowledge 
of our own weakness to place confidence in God 
alone, and to conceive a high esteem of the ex- 
cellence and necessity of mortification. Finally, 
we must so persevere in self-denial, that we may 
resolve to suppress among the foremost those 
vices and those motions to which we are wont 
more easily to succumb ; nor let us attack and 
prostrate all our enemies together, but one after 
another. 

2. The mind and affection are to be turned 
away from those things that are agreeable — from 
food, garments, sleep, vain and immoderate joy, 
and other pleasures of the senses. But that is 
done by fortifying the mind for their opposites, 
and manfully enduring them w r hen occasion offers. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 179 

Nor are minor defects alone to be corrected by 
mortification ; but even the very smallest jot of 
pleasure, though it may not be forbidden, is 
to be cut off, that we may learn in these small 
things to give up greater. But because it gen- 
erally happens that our actions become vicious, 
on account of the manner or circumstance in 
which they take place, as when a person takes food 
with too much avidity, or in familiar intercourse 
yields slightly to laughter and relaxes into fri- 
volities; therefore, in any matter we can moderate 
ourselves in a threefold manner. For, firstly, 
w T e ought to become masters of ourselves in such a 
way as to be prepared, with complete indifference, 
either to undertake or to omit an action or 
business, as right reason may have prescribed. 
Secondly, we ought so to govern the mind, that 
in transacting affairs, however necessary, we may 
not allow ourselves to be overcome with too great 
anxiety, or to be lowered to mean thoughts, to 
murmurs, to a certain relish for affairs, and to 
an undue inclination towards perishable things, 
but may be able as masters with full freedom to 
turn our attention from these, and transfer it to 
God. Thirdly, we must take care, out of things 
of themselves ignoble, to make for ourselves a 
step towards the noble and spiritual, as if a 
person at table propose to himself the Lord 
Christ, and conform to the model of him taking 
food. 



180 TART FIB ST. 

3. As soon as we observe that v?e are dis- 
turbed, that impulse must be restrained by rea- 
son, as by a bridle, like a cruel beast. Then 
somewhat of those things to which we are more 
immoderately prone is to be withdrawn from the 
senses, and even something of inconvenience 
and trouble added as a penalty. But the mind 
is to be goaded to duty by reproving our laziness, 
and setting before our eyes the sweetness of 
divine love. That furious assault being thus 
quieted, reason is to be adjusted and regulated, 
that henceforward it may in no way be subserv- 
ient to the senses and to disquiet. And, first, 
care must be taken that reason thoroughly 
understand how honorable it is, that it should 
rule the senses, and how degrading that itself, 
being the Queen, should minister to the most 
wicked slaves. In the next place, it is necessary 
to turn attention to that peace and tranquility 
which a man enjoys after he has gained the vic- 
tory over the senses and disorderly motions. It 
will be useful, likewise, to have at hand the various 
species of spiritual things corresponding to the 
objects of sense, that reason may be directed to 
them, when the allurements of earthly things 
strike and move the senses. Lastly, one must 
beware, lest he ever persuade himself that he has 
completely overcome any passion, because per- 
haps for a long time he has felt no evil motion 
of it in himself; but we ought from time to time 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 181 

to renew our accustomed exercises, and never 
desist from the fight, lest deceived by diabolical 
craft we fall into injurious tepidity. 



§2. — Of the Right Use of Mortification. 
1. That a person may not labor in vain in the 
practice of mortification, he must, above all, pur- 
suade himself, that it is not enough to macerate 
the body by haircloths, fasts and other penances 
of this kind, if he at the same time give full 
scope to the senses and depraved affections ; let 
all his care be rather given to this, that in every 
determination and action, all that is superfluous 
and inordinate may be cut out by the sword of 
mortification; for corporal penances are of little 
avail without interior discipline. We must im- 
itate soldiers, who exercise and prepare them- 
selves for real battles by feigned contests ; there- 
fore, we ought to contemplate all cases that 
might occur, and suppose that they had already 
happened to us; then to act just as if they had 
really happened, practicing the various acts of 
mortification, which the thing itself demanded. 
Nor is it enough that each by himself engage in 
the practice of mortification, but he should also 
be prepared to be aided and exercised by others ; 
that is by bearing whatever others do or say 
against him, and by showing that he is most 
thankful, if trial be made of him in many things. 



182 PABT FIB ST. 

2. Since it often happens that we are occupied 
in certain things, which of their own nature are 
pleasing to the senses, as are food and sleep, or 
which are agreeable to the mind, such as praise, 
applause and honor, mortification does not con- 
sist in entirely destrojdng every sense and relish 
of these things ; but our efforts must be centered 
in this, that the attention be in no way occupied 
with the thought of these things, nor the mind 
reflect, that it may again desire to obtain the 
same, that it may take delight in them, that it 
may be dejected if deprived of them; the mind 
is rather to be turned in some other direction, 
and withdrawn from a sense of them as far as 
possible. In daily meditations also the necessity 
and excellence of mortification are to be thought 
over, and an efficacious desire of it excited in the 
soul from the passion of Christ and the examples 
of the Saints, each making a diligent examina- 
tion as to how he has acted daily in the perform- 
ance of mortification. 

3. It is a useful lesson in this matter, daily 
to deny one's self in some word or w T ork; as, if 
on a walk you find some persons engaged in fri- 
volities and conversations, and the thought occur 
that you join and exchange words with them; do 
not so, but turning aside cut away self-will. 
You see a flower in the garden, the thought sug- 
gests itself to you to pluck and scent it; restrain 
your hand, and touch it not for the love of God. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 183 

You hear an insulting word, resist yourself, and 
keep silence ; for by acting thus you shall speed- 
ily arrive at perfect mortification. In this man- 
ner we can practice mortification a hundred times 
in the day, and attain great tranquility of soul 
in a brief space. But in every mortification it 
must be remarked, that for the sake of our own 
self-denial we may do nothing unbecoming, noth- 
ing foolish, that may offend the eyes or ears of 
the by-standers. For virtue is most beautiful, 
which inclines the just, not to those things 
which may hurt and scandalize, but to those 
which may help and edify. For if we revolt at ap- 
pearing unclad before others, shall w r e under pre- 
text of mortification expose ourselves in others' 
view? Or, in order to mortify ourselves, shall 
we openly manifest the hideous sins of our 
former life? These and similar others are fool- 
ish, they are silly and indiscreet. But if any of 
the Saints has done anything of the kind, either 
he did it not as a Saint, or he did it by a special 
inspiration from God. But what has been done 
by extraordinary impulse is to be admired, it is 
true, but is not to be imitated. It is better then 
to imitate the life of the Saints in the practice of 
solid virtues, than in extraordinary deeds and 
penances. 

§3. — Of the Threefold Degree of Mortification. 

1. The first degree is, that as strangers and 

pilgrims we refrain from carnal desires, which 



184 PABT FIBST. 

war against the soul. Inasmuch as the pilgrim 
proceeds on his way, turns not to the right nor 
to the left. If he should happen to see persons 
quarreling, he heeds them not; if marrying or 
dancing, or doing anything else, he passes on, 
notwithstanding, because he is a pilgrim, and 
has no concern with such. For his country he 
sighs, towards his country he hastens, having 
food and clothing he desires not to be burdened 
with aught else. 

2. The second degree is, that we be as if 
dead, as it is written (Col. iii, 3) : "For you are 
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." 
A pilgrim, no doubt, by reason of traveling 
requisites, can easily be retarded in seeking and 
overburdened in carrying more than is neces- 
sary; a dead man, if deprived even of burial, 
feels it not. Thus he hears those who vituper- 
ate and praise, those who flatter and detract 
him; nay, he does not even hear, because he is 
dead. An entirely happy death, which preserves 
thus untainted ; yea, makes wholly estranged 
from this world. But Christ must of necessity 
live in him who does not live in his own person. 
For this is what the Apostle says (Gal. ii, 20) : 
"I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me." 
As if he were to say : To all other things indeed 
I am dead; I do not feel, I do not heed, I do 
not care for them ; but if there are any that con- 
cern Christ, these find me alive and prepared. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY, 185 

3. The Apostle of the Gentiles has taught th e 
third and most perfect degree in these words 
(Gal. vi, 14) : "God forbid that I should glory, 
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the 
world." Not only, he says, am I dead to the 
world, but I am also crucified to it, which is an 
ignominious kind of death. I to it, and it in like 
manner to me. All that the world loves — the 
delights of the flesh, honors, riches, the empty 
praises of men — are a cross to me. But all that 
the world esteems a cross, to these I am at- 
tached, to these I cling, these I embrace with 
my whole affection. Is not that degree superior 
to the second and first? If a pilgrim is prudent 
he does not forget his pilgrimage, though he ad- 
vances w T ith laborious effort, and does not mix 
very much in worldly affairs. A dead man spurns 
alike the agreeable as well as the unpleasant 
things of this life. But to him who has reached 
this degree, all that the world clings to is a cross, 
and he is attached to those things which seem to 
the world to be a cross. Let us carefully con- 
sider, therefore, in what degree we may be 
placed, and let us endeavor to advance from day 
to day, since going from virtue to virtue we 
shall see the God of gods in Sion (Ps. lxxxiii, 8). 



186 PABT FIB ST. 

Chapter XIII. — Of Mortification of the 
Senses and Exterior Acts. 

Prophetic language asserts that death enters 
to the soul by the windows of the senses; there- 
fore they must be guarded with the utmost care, 
so that we may never do anything for their serv- 
ice, but use them, as if they belonged to others, 
for their proper and necessary end alone, lead- 
ing them away from brutal and earthly life to 
that which is celestial and rational, that they 
may learn to serve, not themselves but God. 
Nor are they to be restrained merely from for- 
bidden things, but also in the lawful use of 
things care must be taken, lest they be carried 
too eagerly towards perishable things, and plunge 
into their delight ; wherefore they are to be grad- 
ually led away from too close attention of the 
work they perform, and elevated to God. 



§1. — Of Mortification of the Eyes. 
1. The first war is to be undertaken against 
the wantonness of the eyes, for since the eyes 
see with the utmost quickness, and transmit the 
representations of various things to the imagin- 
ation and thence to the mind, they excite, unless 
well guarded, numerous rebellious motions and 
seeds of grievous sins in the appetite and will. 
O, how great evils have we learned both from 
modern and ancient examples to have sprung, 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 187 

and still daily to spring from curious and in- 
cautious looks ! "My eye hath wasted my soul," 
says the Prophet (Lam. iii, 51). But though 
it may be difficult to guard the eyes so carefully 
that we may never commit any sin through 
them, we must not therefore imagine it im- 
possible, because we rely not only on our own 
powers, but chiefly on divine grace, the aid of 
which we should daily implore, exclaiming with 
the Prophet (Ps. cxviii, 37): "Turn away my 
eyes that they may not behold vanity." Further- 
more, mortification of the eyes is contained un- 
der these heads. 

2. The eyes are never to be fixed on women 
or on immodest things, the unclean traces of 
which may be imprinted on the mind ; but if by 
accident they meet such an object, they are to 
be averted instantly with a certain horror, as 
from a beast full of most deadly poison, which 
kills at the mere sight. Comedies, tragedies, 
dances, athletic games, theatrical plays and other 
profane shows are not to be witnessed; for such 
earthly representations so dissipate the mind and 
fill it with nonsensical cares, that it cannot soar 
to heaven. The doings of others must not be ob- 
served, nor more pains taken about strangers 
than if there were no men, unless charity or duty 
of office require otherwise; for in this way we 
shall be both in peace and shall escape murmurs 
and countless other sins. On no account shall 



188 PABT FIB ST. 

we read impure and worthless books; we shall 
not curiously inspect vain pictures and statues, 
splendid edifices and other things of the same 
class wrought for pomp and pleasure; at home 
as well as abroad we shall keep our eyes mod- 
estly cast on the ground; for that government 
of the eyes is a certain bridle of the whole body, 
by which the affections and the other senses are 
restrained from running riot through things for- 
bidden and unlawful. 

3. Let the interior pure and simple eye of the 
mind, that is, an upright intention and pious af- 
fection, accompany the view of the exterior eyes, 
that we may look on all things for sake of a 
lawful end, and interpret them in the better 
sense; for this is the eye of which it is written 
(Matt, vi, 22): "If thy eye be single ; thy whole 
body shall be lightsome." It is not enough, 
however, to confine our look to the greater glory 
of God; but we ought also take heed to view the 
presence of God in each individual thing, and 
hence we may sweetly raise the mind to the 
praises of the divine Majesty, admiring and ex- 
tolling, on account of the order, beauty, variety 
and perfection of creatures, God's goodness, 
wisdom, power and infinite virtue, the marks of 
which are impressed on these same creatures ; 
seeing that, as the Apostle says (Eom. i, 20): 
"The invisible things of Him from the creation 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 189 

of the world are clearly seen, being understood 
by the things that are made." 



§2. — Of Mortification of the Ears. 
1. Philosophers call hearing the sense of dis- 
cipline, because through it, as through a door-, 
the idea of truth and all wisdom enter into the 
mind. But this door is to be strictly guarded by 
the watch of self-denial, lest falsehood instead of 
truth, folly instead of wisdom force their way 
into the recesses of the heart. Since, then, God 
has granted us the perfect sense of hearing, that 
we might thereby acquire the mysteries of faith, 
lessons of salvation and doctrine of the Gospel, 
it is just and proper to keep the ears closed to 
those things that are at variance with the above 
end, nor may we open the entrance of truth to 
vanities. And since Scripture enjoins (James, 
i, 19) that ''every man be swift to hear," we 
must beware of two things in this matter: one, 
lest a person listen to vain, curious things, that 
in no way concern him, from which only dissipa- 
tion of mind and tumultuous thoughts arise; the 
other, that whatever things it is lawful to hear, 
a person eagerly and attentively hear, remark, 
preserve in his mind, compare with each other, 
and draw from them various rules for regulating 
his life and acquiring useful knowledge; for thus 
in a short time he shall gain for himself experi- 
ence of many things. 



190 PABT FIBST. 

2. But we ought to restrain our ears from 
love songs and secular lays, which soothe the 
ears, and enervate the heart, and turn it away 
from the love of gravity; from jokes and frivol- 
ities, from idle words and such as provoke 
laughter; from worldly rumors and novelties, 
which do not appertain to our state; from mur- 
murings and detractions, though very light de- 
fects of others may be related ; from our own 
praise and that of our concerns, and from every 
species of flattery ; from the investigation of oc- 
cult things, which are treated of by others in 
secret; in fine, from all things which do not 
minister to our own utility, nor to our neighbors' 
salvation, nor to edification or charity. 

3. We shall gladly hear the divine words, 
whether they be read from books, or spoken 
familiarly, or preached from the pulpit, just as 
if God himself were speaking; and from the 
things heard we shall study with a will to cull 
salutary principles and pious sentiments, to be 
recalled for use at the proper time, that thus we 
may be numbered among those, "Who hear the 
word of God, and keep it." (Luke, xi, 28.) In 
the same manner we shall always draw some 
fruit of piety from all things that reach our ears, 
whatever their nature may be. Now we shall 
weigh some word useful for acquiring virtue; 
now we shall blush and be excited to penance at 
the remembrance of past sin or present vice: 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY, 191 

now we shall pity our neighbor, especially if he 
speak foolishly or wickedly, and shall pray to 
God for him, and thus, after the manner of the 
industrious bee, we shall collect honey from all 
things. 

§3. — Of the Mortification of Taste, Smell and 
Touch, 

1. For the mortification of taste, those pre- 
scriptions which we have proposed before against 
gluttony are to be employed. In the first place, 
concentration of thought on pleasure, which is 
obtained by sense, is to be shunned by referring 
to God whatever delectation there is; then, if 
anything unwelcome or annoying has happened, 
it is to be cheerfully borne ; the more common 
and unsavory of what are served are to be chosen ; 
something of every eatable is always to be left 
for God's sake; wine is to be drunk diluted, the 
mind is to be applied to the reading or to pious 
meditation, and discourse is never to be held on 
food and drink. 

2. Although sin is not so often committed in 
smelling, still this sense, too, is to be restricted, 
lest a good corporal odor be an indication of a 
bad spiritual odor. And first, all the perfumes 
that are made by art must be avoided, for these 
are characteristic of men, who are effeminate 
and of bad savor. In the use of natural scents, 
as of apples or flowers, moderation is to be ob- 



192 PART FIB ST. 

served. Foul smells are to be patiently endured 
when occasion shall occur, bearing in mind that 
nothing smells more offensively to our neighbors 
than our bad manners and sins. Then the intol- 
erable stench, with which the damned are tor- 
tured in hell, is to be meditated on. Lastly, 
from the agreeableness of smells, the mind is to 
be raised towards heaven to the sweetness of 
divine things, to, the odor of virtues most pleas- 
ing to God and men, saying that w r ith the Spouse 
(Cant, i, 3): "We will run after thee to the 
odor of thy ointments." 

3. Touch is the most dangerous of all the 
senses, since, diffused through all the members, it 
assails the mind from every side. But it should 
be restrained by those remedies that have been 
already given for surmounting the vice of the 
flesh. Their gist is, that each one have exceed- 
ingly great reverence for himself ; that we con- 
sider everything unbecoming as impossible to us ; 
that, if it can be done, we refrain from even a 
momentary idea of things impure; that in all 
things we be modest, considering in every place 
the presence of God and of the angels; that we 
bear with equanimity cold, heat, pain and other 
asperities. The holy Fathers, solicitous about 
the deception and perversity of sense, chastised 
the flesh with haircloths, chains, scourges and 
frequent fasts, whom we ought to imitate in a 
matter so holy, observing, however, the just 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 193 

measure of discretion according to the prudent 
counsel of our spiritual Father. 



§4. — Of the Regulation of the Entire Body. 
1. Whereas ,' from the culture of the body and 
exterior dress the interior state of the soul maj^ 
be seen, and it may be made manifest by what 
movements it is agitated, to what affections it is 
subject; let each one avoid all those things that 
usually indicate a depraved and troubled spirit. 
Let him rather outwardly display cheerfulness 
and gentleness, with winning gravity: and let 
him be far estranged from the license of a disso- 
lute man, from puerile levity, from frivolities 
and vanities. Let him also avoid those things, 
which show symptoms of excessive gladness, of in- 
constancy and lightness, of which nature are loud 
chuckling and uncontrolled laughter, swinging 
of the arms, gestures of the hands, rapid motions 
of the eyes and a hasty gait; neither, however, 
while he shuns these excesses, let him rush into 
the opposite, that is, into a sort of stoic stolidity 
and rustic reserve, so as never either to move an 
eye, nor utter a word, nor raise an arm ; but let 
him rest in a middle course. Let him, likewise, 
put away from himself those things that may 
offend his neighbor's feeling or mind, namely, 
filth of garments and of bodily movements, and 
whatever can excite disgust; w T ords and all mo- 
(13— Spir. Life.) 



194 PABT FIB ST. 

tions, by which contempt of any one is meant, 
and every indication of an unfriendly feeling; 
whatever can cause timidity and shame to others, 
in which matter he ought to bear this in mind, 
that many things may be done with propriety 
which cannot be witnessed lawfully ; whatever 
begets irksomeness, disgust and loathing, or 
from which others may infer that what they say 
or do is by no means approved of. 

2. But that we may govern our body rightly 
and according to reason, the following in partic- 
ular are to be regulated: All our members are 
so to be governed, that each may perform its 
own action alone, and entirely dispense with the 
movements of other members, as when we speak, 
that the mouth may speak, not the hands; while 
we walk, the feet may walk, not the arms; and 
that thus each member may becomingly perform 
its own action. Let our garments not be costly, 
delicate, fine, splendid, exquisitely wrought, but 
of such color and shape as suits our peculiar 
state, and gives edification to all. Let them not 
be odd, or childishly fitted to the body, but such 
as may show a serious and grave mind. Let us 
not move the head with levity, let us keep the 
eyes for the most part cast down, and not fix 
them on the faces of those with whom we speak. 
Let wrinklings in the forehead and much more 
in the nose be avoided, that cheerfulness may be 
seen exteriorlv and be an evidence of that which 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY, 195 

is interior. In fine, let every gesture be modest, 
and let regard of decency be had in all things. 

3. In like manner, to mortification of the 
body belong chastisements of the flesh, which 
are customarily performed by lashes, haircloths, 
cords, chains, fasts, genuflections, sleeping on. the 
ground, hunger, thirst, toil, scantiness of cloth- 
ing, weariness, vigils, by removing from one's bed 
and garments all luxury, from nutriments sweet 
ness, from cell and habitation all commodious- 
ness, by accepting whatever is onerous to the flesh, 
whatever is hard and unpleasant ; of which things 
numerous examples of the Saints are recorded, 
which, by the advice of our spiritual Father, we 
ought so imitate as to co-operate with the measure 
of grace given us, and not exceed our strength. 
But as a vineyard, that is not hedged around, is 
exposed to the damages of thieves and beasts ; 
so the mind, which diligent custody of the ex- 
terior man does not wall in and fortify, is open to 
countless dangers, is approachable on all sides 
by demons, who, entering in, plunder and waste 
all its goods. 

§5. — Of the Regulation of Exterior Actions. 

1. This is the first degree of sanctity, to be 
so orderly in all exterior actions, that nothing 
may appear in us that can offend the beholders. 
But that we may attain to that, the following in- 
structions will be serviceable: We ought to 



196 PABT FIBST. 

cherish a certain fear and laudable modesty, 
which may keep us within duty, and restrain us 
from all boldness, petulance, vehemence and 
liberty, so that we may truly shudder at such 
things. It is necessary to live and act with 
moderate men, and those of grave and praise- 
worthy manners; and to follow the training of a 
good friend or instructor, by whom we may be 
admonished of mistakes 'in this matter. Not 
only ought actions plainly evil be avoided, but 
also those by which we may fall under suspicion 
of vice, either of pride, or envy, or anger; for 
the Apostle commands us to abstain from all ap- 
pearance of evil (1 Thes. v, 22). We must be- 
ware, lest by deed or word we indicate that we 
are covetous of our own gain or benefit, setting 
aside on that account the utility or will of others ; 
for this is odious, and it is requisite that he, who 
desires to cement friendships, show himself zeal- 
ous for others' good, and often prefer it to his 
own. A certain affected and aspiring manner of 
conduct, which may betray care and art, is to be 
avoided in intercourse ; and frankness, simplicity 
and sincerity of mind are rather to be cultivated, 
for these render men amiable. But when we put 
off severity for sake of relaxing the mind, let us 
permit a more gladsome countenance and laugh- 
ter in such manner that we may, nevertheless, 
always remember modesty and circumspection. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 197 

2. In things that are not bad we ought, as 
far as we can, accommodate our manners to the 
approved customs of the regions in which we 
live, to the times, likewise, and persons, that we 
may be able to change our conduct in whatever 
way the occasion requires, and laugh with those 
who laugh, weep with those who weep, that we 
may thus gain all to Christ. But in services and 
marks of respect, by which due honor is paid to 
each one, account is to be taken of custom, of 
the age, rank and dignity of each, especially to- 
wards men of high authority, with whom we 
should always act, so as to show some reverence 
of submission and mark of deference, rather 
than too great freedom and boldness. But al] 
those things that concern the government of our 
actions are to be attended to, not only when we 
stay with others, but also when we live alone, re- 
tired and without witnesses. For modesty even 
of itself is amiable, and our works are always 
seen by the holy Angels, they are seen by God, 
who is omnipresent ; nor can we escape from oui- 
own conscience, the witness and accuser of oui 
actions. 

3. But all exterior discipline consists in this, 
that we be mature, humble and kind. Maturity 
composes mind and body ; it keeps the senses 
from wandering, it bridles the tongue from idle 
words, the hands from useless occupations, the 
feet from unbecoming walking, all the members 



198 FART FIRST. 

from disorderly and restless movement. Humility 
stoops the neck, shapes morals, makes one sit in 
the last place, shuns singularity, makes active 
for the services of others, silent under affronts, 
shy about honors offered, prompt to learn and 
hard to be made angry. Kindness renders affable, 
flexible, compliant, cheerful and modestly gay in 
what is good, faithful, social, despising or rashly 
judging no one, agreeable, obliging and in favor 
with all. Humility tempers gravity, that it may 
not seem haughty and proud. Kindness pre- 
vents it being thought austere. But maturity 
moderates kindness, lest it be considered trifling, 
or carnally fawning on or flattering ; it moderates 
humility, lest it be reputed too mean or affected. 



Chapter XIV. — Of the Custody of the 
Tongue. 

Of such moment is it to guard the tongue, 
that greater care is to be used in its custody 
than in preserving the apple of the eye, because 
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" 
(Prov. xviii, 21), and, "As a city that lieth 
open and is not encompassed with walls, so is a 
man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speak- 
ing" (Ibid, xxv, 28), and the tongue is called an 
unquiet evil, which no man can tame (James, iii, 
8). Man tames the most ferocious beasts, he 
tames the bull, he tames the lion, and he tames 
not his own tongue, but God's special help is re- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 199 

quired to restrain it, as it is written (Prov. xvi, 
1): "It is the part of man to prepare the soul; 
and of the Lord to govern the tongue." There- 
fore, what the Prophet says must be done: "I 
said, I will take heed to my ways: that I sin not 
with my tongue" (Ps. xxxviii, 2); and we must 
pray with the same (Ibid, cxl, 3) : "Set a watch, 
O Lord, before my mouth : and a door round 
about my lips." 

§1. — In What Way the Tongue is to be Guarded. 
1. Christian perfection mainly depends on the 
tongue, and unless that be restrained within duty 
no virtue will be of long duration. For the 
power of virtues is sequestered in the soul, and 
the tongue is the door by which, when open, all 
force of the soul is dissipated and vanishes, as 
the smell of a precious ointment escapes and per- 
ishes, unless the lid of the casket be carefully 
sealed. Nature herself has taught us how neces- 
sary is the custody of the tongue, when it has 
put to it a twofold rampart of the teeth and of 
the lips. But it is most difficult to govern and 
repress this small member, both because talk- 
ativeness is innate to human nature, so that it 
eagerly desires at once to speak out what it likes 
and conceives, and because the tongue is contig- 
uous to the brain, the door of the imagination, 
as what that thinks immediately flows into the 
mouth, and streams out into words. "Where- 



200 PABT FIBST. 

fore the Apostle James says (iii, 2): "If any 
man offend not in word, the same is a perfect 
man;" and the holy Fathers teach that silence 
is the guardian of Religion, and that in it consists 
the strength of Religious, as the strength of Sam- 
son was in his hair; and they, who wish to re- 
form monasteries, first procure the restoration of 
silence, because in.it lies the entire sum of reg- 
ular discipline (James, i, 26) : "If any man think 
himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, 
. this man's religion is vain." 
2. Therefore, we ought to be very cautious 
in all our utterances, placing a guard to our 
mouth according to the admonition of the Wise- 
man (Eccl. xxii, 33) : "Who will set ... a 
sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by them, 
and that my tongue destroy me not?" Which 
that we may be able more easily to accomplish, 
these circumstances are to be observed in speak- 
ing. The first is, that we speak with a right in- 
tention, namely, for the greater glory of God, 
for our own and our neighbor's benefit. But 
that we may accustom ourselves to have an up- 
right end in every utterance of ours, it is neces- 
sary to curb certain propensities and vices, which 
impel man to blurt out rashly. These are im- 
moderate affections, of almost always prattling, 
of chatting too much with friends, of easily pour- 
ing forth whatever comes to the mind, of pro- 
claiming an opinion scarcely conceived, of indis- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 201 

criminately opening one's mind to any person 
whatever, and of entrusting secrets to all. Fron? 
which arises a bad habit, which if persons con- 
tract, they cannot contain themselves, without 
always babbling, paying no regard to the end 
and intention. They talk only for talk's sake, 
and they do not so much beguile as lose most 
valuable hours. Accordingly, we should resolve 
not to wish to utter even one word, except for a 
lawful end of the divine glory, of our own or our 
neighbor's utility. The second circumstance is, 
that we speak with circumspection, as the Wise- 
man enjoins (EccL xxviii, 29, 30): "Make a 
balance for thy words, and a just bridle for thy 
mouth; and take heed lest thou slip with thy 
tongue." Third, that we speak what is modest, 
as it is written (Ibid, xxxii, 10, 13): "Young- 
man, scarcely speak in thy own cause, if thou be 
asked twice, let thy answer be short; in many 
things be as if thou wert ignorant, and hear in 
silence and withal seeking. In the company of 
great men take not upon thee ; and when the an- 
cients are present, speak not much." Fourth, 
that it be in suitable place and time (Ibid, xx, 
22), for the Scripture says: "A parable coming 
out of a fool's mouth shall be rejected : for he 
doth not speak it in due season." Fifth, that it 
be in a low and moderate tone, in few and rea- 
sonable words, for, as Solomon says (Prov. xxi, 
23) : "He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, 



202 PABT FIBST. 

keepeth his soul from distress." And since our 
tongue has been intended for many very holy 
duties, for praising and supplicating God, for 
returning him thanks, for confessing our sins, 
for announcing the divine mysteries, for receiv- 
ing the most holy Eucharist ; precaution is to be 
taken with the utmost solicitude, lest it be stained 
by vanity or impropriety of words. 

3. But care must be had, lest, while we desire 
to repress the tongue, we slip into opposite vices. 
For we ought not so regulate the tongue, as with 
persistence in constant silence not to consent to 
speak, even when right reason shall demand it; 
nor are maxims to be always so meditated on, 
that we may become irksome to our companions, 
or seem dumb; nor, lastly, is the tongue to be 
guarded in such manner, that our prudence may 
result in pride or subtlety, or even in clownish- 
ness. Virtue consists in a middle course. 



§2. — The Principal Vices of the Tongue to be 
Shunned in Speech. 
1. It would be an endless task to enumerate 
all the vices of the tongue, wherefore we shall 
now omit heresies, blasphemies, perjuries, insults 
and other similar more grievous sins, and shall 
only explain those into which even the just, 
through human frailty, are wont sometimes to 
fall. And, first, we ought to cleanse our tongue 
from every slightest stain of falsehood, consider- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 203 

ing that God has given us the faculty of speech, 
that we may truly and candidly thereby express 
things as they are ; again, liars are not only odious 
to God, who is supreme truth, but are also like 
to the devil, who is false and the father of lying. 

2. Double-dealing and feigning are to be 
avoided, when one thing is apprehended by the 
mind and another signified by the tongue, whereby 
men are deceived, human confidence undermined, 
natural society itself destroyed and human inter- 
course for the most part dissolved; but sincerity 
is to be cultivated, and the perceptions of the 
mind are to be most plainly expressed without 
any cloak and ambiguity. And on this ground 
all exaggeration is to be shunned, so that by our 
words a thing may not become worse, but appear 
such as it really is. We shall, likewise, absolutely 
affirm nothing that is uncertain, but shall pro- 
nounce it cautiously, and with limitation, what it 
seems to us. 

3o Another very mischievous vice of the 
tongue is contention, whether under pretence of 
performing some work better, or through zeal of 
virtue, or to investigate or defend truth. For 
the Apostle Paul says (2 Tim. ii, 14) : " Contend 
not in words: for it is to no profit, but to the 
subverting of the hearers;" and (1 Cor. iii, 3) : 
" Whereas there is among you envying and con- 
tention : are you not carnal, and walk according 
to man?" Too much disputing and vehemence 



204 PART FIB ST. 

of language by which we may appear excited, 
are, in like manner, to be guarded against, but in 
friendly conversations the naked and simple ex- 
position of the subject will suffice; which is par- 
ticularly to be observed in reproofs, propounding 
to a man his fault without amplification and bit- 
terness of words. 

4. Again, the tongue offends by turning "to 
evil words, to make excuses in sins" (Ps. cxl,4), 
since it is another fault to excuse a fault commit- 
ted. In the lives of the Saints we read of several 
who, accused of most heinous crimes, refuted 
them in no other way than by silence, imitating 
Christ our Lord (1 Peter, ii, 23): "Who when 
he was reviled, did not revile; when he suffered, 
he threatened not; but delivered himself to him, 
that judged him unjustly." 

5. The tongue fails, also, if it publish acts of 
kindness, reject and make them a subject of re- 
proach ; if it soothe and flatter the morals of 
others, especially of princes and great men; if 
when mention is made of men, it praise or blame 
them without measure ; if it utter what one knows 
will be neither pleasing nor useful to the hearers ; 
if it speak of puerile, scurrilous and absurd 
things, which are unbecoming the gravity of a 
religious man; if of things too deep and subtle, 
which exceed the hearers' comprehension ; if it 
bring forth idle and useless words, which are 
devoid of the intention either of just necessity 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 205 

or of pious utility, which profit neither the 
speaker nor the hearers ; if, in fine, it keep silence, 
when right reason convinces it, that it should 
speak; when, for instance, from negligence or 
cowardice, either a necessary truth is suppressed, 
or a reproof of delinquents omitted, or an admo- 
nition denied to those in need of it. 

6. Whereas, in an ordinary gathering of men 
conversation is wont sometimes to turn on im- 
proper subjects, we ought to make this firm reso- 
lution with ourselves, never to open the mouth 
for taking part in such colloquies as savor of any 
vice or turpitude, since the Apostle prescribes 
(Eph. iv, 29) : "Let no evil speech proceed from 
your mouth." Expressions are also to be avoided 
that may bring ruin to others, or that may touch 
their character; wherefore, we must beware, lest 
w T e ever make mention of another's vice, whatever 
it may be, whether natural or moral; whether 
common or peculiar to an individual ; much less 
are the vices of princes and rulers to be remarked ; 
nor are those writings to be repeated in which 
the life of certain men is described, though their 
names be not mentioned. Also those things 
should be avoided, which can offend, and disturb 
in the slightest manner the hearers' minds, or 
which produce annoyance and excite impatience, 
such as bitter and cutting words or replies, fre- 
quent and troublesome interruptions, repetitions, 
questions, excessive disputations, contentions. 



206 PABT FIBST. 

affronts, and whatever manifests contempt; nor 
is each thing that is heard to be taken note of, 
as if in criticism ; but let every one show himself 
agreeable and docile, and intimate that he es- 
teems and approves the sayings and authority of 
others. 

7. We must beware not to disclose to any- 
one secrets, whether our own or others', which 
we ought in duty to conceal. It has happened to 
most persons to have fallen into perplexing and 
scarcely endurable troubles, on account of having 
imprudently confided secrets to those they should 
not. But this vice arises from the fact, that, 
when conversation is unduly prolonged, a certain 
charm of speech gradually insinuates itself, af- 
fecting the mind in the same way as intoxication 
or love, wherefore, there is no secret that may 
not burst forth. But if one demand the fidelity 
of his hearer even with an oath, still the confided 
secret will not be concealed, nay, it will be re- 
vealed the quicker, as the very prohibition whets 
the appetite for babbling. Thus, what was lately 
a secret becomes a rumor. It is, likewise, proper 
to speak with the greatest reserve of ourselves 
and our affairs, of our kindred, country or rela- 
tives, for such speech arises for the most part 
from vanity or levity. Which boasting is most 
foolish in a wise and religious man, namely, for 
one to praise or exalt what he has deserted and 
despised. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 207 

8. Too great brevity and obscurity are also 
faulty, especially when a thing is so involved as 
to seem a puzzle; nor, on the other hand, is pro- 
lixity, which is wont to arise either from a use- 
less accumulation of empty words or from un- 
timely digressions little or nothing to the point, 
less to be shunned. One should 'also refrain 
from adornment of embellished speech and from 
frequent axioms, because the former shows too 
much levity, the latter too much gravity. Care 
must be taken lest the voice itself be rudely and 
roughly lavished, that it may not be odious and 
annoying; lest it be harsh and inflexible, but 
moderately grave, according to the nature of the 
subjects, places and hearers. Likewise careless- 
ness, arrogance of gestures, hesitation at every 
word, confused and disordered narration of things 
are to be avoided in speaking. 

9. That we may not overstep the limits of 
modesty in jokes and pleasantries, we shall, in the 
first place, take care not to make use of them on 
sacred occasions, or in times of reverses or dis- 
asters, nor before men of hisfh authority, nor 
while grave subjects are treated of. Next, we 
shall not employ them indiscriminately, lest we 
appear to profess that art as buffoons ; but our 
pleasantries shall be salts so provided for season- 
ing speech as not to appear devised, but produced 
unexpectedly by the subject. But when some- 
thing witt} 7 or pleasant has been said, let it not 



208 PABT FIB ST. 

be repeated, for such repetition implies levity. 
Then we must see that what we say as humorous 
be not frigid and absurd; and that our expres- 
sions contain no bitterness, but that in them an 
amiable sweetness be united with acuteness, and 
that we slander no one present or absent. Two 
extremes are to be avoided, the one of too great 
rusticity, like the gloominess of some who, ever 
stern and austere, condemn all refined manners ; 
the other of the too great abandonment of those 
who pour themselves out wholly in such things, 
and give more time, more study and attention to 
jokes than they. ought. A medium is laudable, 
and we should always take care to mingle the 
pious and grave with jokes themselves, and so 
keep the mind under control, that we may easily 
pass from these lighter occupations to others 
more grave. 



§3o — Of Remedies of Vices of the Tongue . 
1. No one can be ignorant of the vast evils 
that follow from loquacity, for both the Wise- 
man asserts and experience shows, that sin is 
never wanting in talkativeness. Wise men have 
never been sorry for having been silent, but often 
were for having spoken. Hence most holy men, 
founders of Orders, especially Saint Benedict, 
commend nothing more than silence to their 
brethren. And a certain most prudent Father 
used to say that regular discipline flourished in 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 209 

that monastery in which were observed these 
three — silence, cleanliness and enclosure. It is 
better, therefore, to keep silence, and to speak 
much with one's self, very little with others; 
and, to effect this, we must take measures, that 
our exterior silence be born of that which is in- 
terior; for the mouth will then easily hold its 
peace, if the impetuous garrulity of the imagin- 
ation be restrained within, if no cries of dis- 
orders resound in the heart, if there be solitude, 
peace and calm in the soul. Then w T e must make 
a diligent examination of conscience, and care- 
fully ascertain the state of our silence, what mis- 
takes we commit in it, what are the roots of 
these faults, and by a firm resolution strengthen 
our will to amend them. 

2. There are many other remedies, also, by 
which vices of the tongue are overcome, namely : 
fervent prayer to God that he, who alone is 
able, may govern and tame the tongue; putting 
in a state of defence, and preparing the mind 
for speaking. Augustin rightly says : "As you 
choose what you subsist on, choose in like mail' 
ner what you are to say ; you examine food about 
to enter the mouth, why not also the word about 
to issue through the mouth, which often excites 
direr commotions in your house than does food 
in your stomach ?" The assiduous remembrance 
of God's presence, for who may not dread to 
(14— Spir. Life.) 



210 PABT FIB ST. 

utter in presence of the supreme Lord and for- 
midable Judge words he would blush to speak 
before a Prelate or a man of stainless life? To 
renew good resolutions daily, and say with the 
Prophet (Ps. xxxviii, 2): "I said, I will take 
heed to my ways : that I sin not with my tongue." 
To inflict a fine on one's self, and exact some 
personal penance after a fall; for no punish- 
ment is more effectual, none more holy than 
one's own. To shun occasions, to avoid the in- 
tercourse of those with whom we are frequently 
accustomed to offend by the tongue; and, like- 
wise, to fly those places in which there is (Janger 
of our breaking silence; and in those hours, too, 
in which we more easily fall by the tongue, to 
keep ourselves in silence with greater watch- 
fulness. 

3. When an occasion of speaking occurs, to 
suggest something useful prepared beforehand, 
and if the speech be idle and unprofitable, to 
divert it already begun into some other channel. 
To speak charily, moderately, in a low voice and 
without the slightest haste. Frugality in words 
is more commendable than in money; he who 
lavishes money profits others so much the more, 
as he injures himself the more ; he who is prodi- 
gal of words injures himself and others. Daily 
to meditate on the examples of Christ our Lord, 
who, when provoked by so many injuries and 
punishments, was silent, and was dumb as a iamb 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 211 

before his shearer, and opened not his mouth; 
and though the Word of the eternal Father, the 
expression of all that is intelligible, was supreme 
and infinite wisdom, still he kept in retirement 
and silence for thirty years, that by his taciturnity 
he might enlighten and cure our loquacity. 
Finally, careful consideration of the divine and 
terrible judgment, in which w T e are to render an 
account of every idle word, will be the best safe- 
guard against mistakes of the tongue. But be- 
cause we shall never be able to govern the tongue 
with such caution, as not to fail sometimes 
through ignorance, or inadvertence, or in other 
ways, we must endeavor to cover the sins of the 
tongue with good works, and immerse the vices 
of speech in the multitude of zealous actions. 



§4. — Of the Government of the Tongue Even in 
Lawful Things. 
1. We become accustomed to avoid sinful 
things, when we abstain from those that are law- 
ful, after the example of the Prophet, who bears 
witness of himself (Ps. xxxviii, 3): "I was 
dumb, . . •. and kept silence from good 
things." Wherefore, says Saint Benedict, on 
account of the great importance of silence, let 
leave to speak, even of subjects that are good 
and holy for edification, be rarely granted the 
perfect disciples, because death and life are in 
the power of the tongue. Therefore, we ought 



212 PART FIRST. 

to observe a just measure even in good things, 
keeping Saint Bernard's precept, that our words 
be twice revised before they come once to the 
tongue. And in our recreations discourse ought 
to be introduced, not of battles nor of sports, not 
of the vanities or novelties of the world, but of 
good and spiritual things. And if we happen to 
live among those who need our instruction, they 
are to be taught by deeds rather than by words ; 
for examples move and instruct more effectually 
than words. These are the marks of a wise man : 
he censures no one, complains of no one, accuses 
no one, says nothing of himself, continually ob- 
serves silence; if he is praised, he smiles at him 
who commends him ; if he is blamed, he dees not 
vindicate himself; he always watches himself, as 
if an enemy and one laying snares. 

2. But it is an indication of a man by no 
means religious, that any one discourse with less 
pleasure of divine things; for since from the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, it 
ought to seem only pleasing to a good and spir- 
itual man, whose conversation is in heaven, to 
discourse of things which appertain to sanctity. 
But this difficulty of speaking of holy things may 
proceed from various causes. The first is, little 
love of God and of divine things. The second, 
affections and inclinations not yet liberated and 
purified from earthly dross. The third, scanty 
reading and meditation and discoursing of spir- 



OF THE PVBGATIVE WAY. 213 

itual subjects, whence it comes to pass that mat- 
ter is wanting even to one wishing to speak of 
them. The fourth, human respect, as when any 
one fears to displease his brethren, or display his 
piety. The fifth, dread of fatiguing the head 
with ruin of health. It is to be observed accord- 
ingly from what root it proceeds, and that is to 
be extirpated with the hoe of mortification. But 
when we talk of good things in a friendly meet- 
ing, we must beware, lest our discourse be of 
delicate and touching things, which contain deep 
affections, for such speech would be both of little 
use in time of recreation, and would be little wel- 
come, and might injure the head. 

3. Moreover, the examples of Christ our 
Savior, and of all the Saints, incite us to keep 
silence strictly ; then the consent also of all those 
who have been renowned for wisdom, for all 
these were taciturn even to an astonishing de- 
gree, and commended this virtue in the highest 
terms. Next, silence is very good to preserve 
one's good name, according to that of Proverbs 
(xvii, 28): "Even a fool, if he will hold his 
peace, shall be counted wise;" to discharge all 
the offices of life with greater diligence, to ob- 
serve the gravity and regularity of the religious 
state, for the edification of outsiders, for the ex- 
ercise of virtues. Silence composes the troubled 
heart, brings tranquility to the conscience, dis- 
poses and adapts the mind to receive divine im- 



214 .PABTFIBST. 

pulses. By silence a holocaust, most acceptable 
to God, is made of the entire man and of all his 
faculties, because, by closing the door of the 
mouth, they are all held within, that they may not 
come forth and do harm ; then, little by little, we 
acquire freedom, by which we can with indiffer- 
ence either keep silence or speak, as we may judge 
more expedient. Lastly, loquacity is a sign of 
folly, as appears in children and women, in whom 
there is less of reason and judgment. The very 
brutes even are little prone to give tongue; and 
the Scripture says (Eccl. xx, 7): " A wise man 
will hold his peace till he see opportunity." 



§5. — How the Wicked Tongue of Others is to be 
Endured. 
1. Having given remedies for vices of the 
tongue, the mind is to be protected against the 
venomous bites of others' tongues, and since we 
cannot correct them, it remains to be shown, at 
least, by what skill we may bear with them and 
turn their malice to our advantage. The first 
stratagem then is to accuse one's self, and to 
fancy that in a just lawsuit the question is ar- 
gued with us whether others do us an injury, 
whether they assail us with reproaches, when we 
ourselves have previously done the same things 
to others, and have frequently mangled the char- 
acter of our brethren. They do us no injury, 
therefore, but they return in kind, as our Savior 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 215 

says (Mark, iv, 24): "In what measure you 
shall mete, it shall be measured to you again/' 
The second stratagem is to submit one's self 
and promise amendment for the future. It is 
incredible of what power against a wicked tongue 
is humility of spirit (Prov. xv, 1): "A mild 
answer breaketk wrath : but a harsh word stirreth 
up fury," says Solomon. Thirdly, we ought to 
have recourse and pray to God, and bewail to 
him all affronts, as the royal Prophet has taught 
us (Ps. cviii, 4): "Instead of making me a re- 
turn of love, they detracted me : but I gave my- 
self to prayer." For prayer is a most efficacious 
salve for all criminations and wounds of the 
tongue, for all iniquity of the spiteful. Then it 
is better to make use of prayer and confession to 
God, than apology to men. 

2. Fourthly, we ought to shape our patience 
in this matter, after the examples of Christ and 
the Saints. Was it not cast in the face of 
Christ our Lord (John, viii, 48): "Thou art a 
Samaritan, and hast a devil," and "He casteth 
out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils?" 
(Luke, xi, 15). "If they have called the good 
man of the house Beelzebub, how much more 
them of his household?" (Matt, x, 25). Let us 
reflect, that great and holy men of every age and 
every record of past centuries, were ever scourged 
with the severe lash of the tongue, and let us in 
earnest conclude, that it becomes a follower of 



216 PABT FIBST. 

Christ to act well and to hear ill. Endurance 
of unjust detraction is a spiritual martyrdom. 
Fifthly, let us despise the wounds of tongues. 
What hail is to roofs, what waves are to rocks, 
such are insults, such are calumnies, such are de- 
tractions, if they happen to a resolute man. He 
who despises them shall receive no wound. What 
are others' judgments to us, if we are innocent? 
Why fear men condemning, if we have God re- 
warding us ? But if we are offenders and accused, 
whatever of evil may have been found in us is to be 
amended; and thus profiting by another's malice, 
we shall take care in future, lest anything deserv- 
ing censure be found in us. It is justrevenge to 
cause the calumniators to lie. Again, who can 
justly complain of insults and calumnies, when 
from endurance of them may arise the means 
of eternal gloiy ? He who declines the struggle, 
refuses victory, throws away a crown. He who 
is unwilling to contend, spurns the reward; he 
who refuses to suffer, shows that heaven dis- 
pleases him. Let us, therefore, recognize the 
words of our Lord (Matt, v, 11): "Blessed are 
ye," he says, "when they shall revile you, and 
persecute you, and speak all that is evil against 
you, untruly, for my sake: be glad and rejoice, 
for your reward is very great in heaven." 

Lastly, we ought to remain dumb, and temper 
detractions and calumnies with magnanimous si- 
lence; otherwise, by refuting them, we shall stir 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 217 

up a hornet's nest. It is far more glorious to 
bear an injury by keeping silence, in imitation of 
Christ, than to surmount it by replying. He 
who detracts us is a sinner, and wishes us to be- 
come like himself. He confesses that we are 
possessed of virtue, inasmuch as he endeavors to 
deprive us of it. If we are silent, he considers 
himself vanquished and made a laughing-stock; 
if we reply, he thinks himself superior to us, be- 
cause he finds himself equal. If we keep silence 
it will be said: this man has reviled that other, 
and that other has despised him; if we return 
the insult it will be said : Both have reviled. Both 
are condemned ; neither is held guiltless. There- 
fore, it is his aim to irritate, that we may say and 
do like things to him ; but it is the duty of a just 
man to dissemble, to say nothing, to guard the 
fruit of a good conscience, to trust more in the 
judgment of the good than in the accuser's in- 
solence : to rest satisfied with the gravity of his 
own conduct. He who abounds in the conscious 
possession of good works is not moved by revil- 
ings. He who despises feels them not; and he 
who laments is tortured, as if he felt them. The 
arms of a just man are these, by yielding to con- 
quer. But the calumny is grave, somebody will 
say, and by this I shall lose my reputation. By 
no means. For what is more ridiculous than 
this reputation which is often greater than the 
reality, which they, who are the less worthy, 



218 PABT FIB ST. 

often enjoy the more ; which exists not in our 
possession, but in the mouth and opinion of 
others ? Let us rather seek that good which can 
make us truly good and glorious, which may be 
in ourselves, and be numbered among our pos- 
sessions. In this let us rejoice; the rest are to 
be despised. Saint Gregory teaches that we 
ought on some occasions repress detractors, lest, 
while they disseminate evils about us, our sub- 
jects may contemn our preaching; but we must 
beware, lest instead of gain of souls we seek our 
own praise. 

Chapter XV. — Or Mortification of the 
Interior Senses. 

Interior mortification is more excellent than 
exterior, both because it has a nobler object, 
that is, the soul and its powers, and because the 
exterior ought to proceed from the interior. 
Mere external austerity can by no means beget 
true virtues in the soul ; nay, we see several 
mainly devoted to an austere life who are stub- 
born, proud, unruly, despisers of others. It is 
the judgment of the Apostle (Tim. iv, 8) : that 
"bodily exercise is profitable to little: but god- 
liness is profitable to all things." The exterior, 
therefore, is to be joined with the interior, so 
that both may be the way to solid virtues ; and 
in the practice as well of interior as of exterior, 
the greatest caution must be used, lest excessive 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 219 

bodily affliction trench on the powers necessary 
for divine service, or too great laxity and indul- 
gence render the old man refractory. 



§1. — Of Mortification of the Interior Sensitive 
Faculty, which is Called Phantasy or Imagination. 

1. In describing mortification of the interior 
faculties of the sensitive soul I omit the common 
sense, for since its office is to perceive and dis- 
criminate objects of the external senses, when 
they are regulated (as has been prescribed above), 
it necessarily remains free from stain. Accord- 
ingly I pass to another power, which is usually 
called judging or reflective phantasy, sensitive 
imagination and memory ; whether there be sev- 
eral faculties distinct in species and nature, as 
some philosophers think, or it be one specifically, 
designated by different names solely from the 
diversity of its functions, as others will have it. 
Now this power has been much weakened by sin, 
and, therefore, is unwilling to be subject to rea- 
son, ever giddy, ever inconstant and never re- 
maining in the same state. Like a fugitive slave, 
who quits home without leave, it hurries away 
and goes around the entire world before we can 
become aware of its flight. Like a wild and un- 
tamed beast it will neither be governed nor han- 
dled by man; talkative, fleeting, intolerant of 
rest, it longs to know all things, to scrutinize all 
things. And when we order it to remain quietly 



220 PABT FIB ST. 

in contemplation of divine things, it is disobedi- 
ent and resists, because it has been accustomed 
to roam about freely with the utmost liberty, and 
admits of no restraint. Therefore, seeing clearly 
the very vicious habits of this wild beast, we 
ought to seize and fetter it, so that it may always 
remain steady in good and holy thoughts, and the 
door be shut upon it to such as are evil. For 
though it may not be in our power to be exempt 
from the assault of bad or idle thoughts, it rests, 
however, with our free will, by the aid of divine 
grace, to reject and sever them w 7 ith persistent 
courage. 

2. But many considerations show the great 
importance of weighing our thoughts and putting 
away not only such as are bad, but also those 
that are idle and superfluous. For a bad and 
useless thought is the beginning of evil or vain 
desire, since we only desire what we previously 
think upon, and it is hard not to extend to desire 
an evil conceived in the mind, and to confine it to 
thought alone. From bad or idle thought, like- 
wise, vain and destructive words proceed, as the 
tongue is the mind's interpreter. Finally, that 
works proceed from this same thought, he has 
taught, who said (Matt, xv, 19): "From the 
heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adul- 
teries." Therefore, it is not enough for embrac- 
ing purity of life to avoid bad works, but it is 
also necessary to shun bad and foolish thoughts. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 221 

And although thoughts may seem to belong to 
the understanding, still I have preferred to attrib- 
ute their mortification to the phantasy or imag- 
ination, because every perception of ours in this 
mortal life commonly begins from the interior 
sense, as from that which supplies the thing to 
be understood, and without the co-operation and 
service of which the intellect itself does not 
perform its functions. 



§2. — Of a Threefold Kind of Thoughts and 
of Their Renouncement. 

1. The kind of thoughts which ought to be 
repudiated is threefold. The first kind is that of 
impure thoughts, which appertain to gluttony, 
lust, envy, and other vices, and, unless they be 
quickly put aside, may incite to mortal sin. The 
second kind is that of idle and unprofitable 
thoughts, on which an idle man feeds, as on the 
wind, and roams through the pathless and pre- 
cipitous regions of this world without any re- 
straint of circumspection. Under this head are 
classed curious inquiries into hidden things, as 
well of God as of men, examinations of secret 
things, and many other incentives of curiosity, 
which are inducements of various vices. The 
third kind is that of such things as belong to the 
necessities of nature, that is to say, thoughts of 
food, drink, clothing and habitation, and other 
things, without the aid of which we cannot live, 



222 PABT FIB ST. 

2. All these thoughts are wont to spring from 
various causes. The first cause is the instability 
of the human heart, because it is constantly 
moved by thought from one thing to another, 
and cannot be at rest. For as a mill, made to re- 
volve by the waters' force, never ceases from 
work, and it rests with him who directs it, 
whether he prefer to grind wheat or barley or 
cockle, so our mind, driven about through the 
conflicts. of the present life by temptations assail- 
ing it from all sides, cannot be free from the 
ferment of thoughts, but what sorts it ought to 
receive or provide for itself, the zeal and indus- 
try of each shall see to beforehand. Secondly, 
thoughts arise from our concupiscences, for we 
mentally review with pleasure the things we de- 
sire and love, and occupy ourselves with the 
thought of them; and things agreeable to the 
appetite cling to us so forcibly, that we can 
scarcely free ourselves from the recollection of 
them. Thirdly, they are wont to proceed from 
the devil's craft, who is ever intent on defiling 
us, either with bad and immodest, or at least with 
vain and idle thoughts. For he can stir up the 
animal spirits and likenesses of things in our 
bodily organs, and thus represent vain and hurt- 
ful subjects. 

3. But the following are the remedies of such 
thoughts: 1) To ask of God, by incessant pray- 
ers, that he may purify our heart from them. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 223 

2) Manfully to oppose their beginnings, for the 
cure is prepared too late when the evil has grown 
strong, and he is called blessed that shall take 
and dash his little ones against a rock (Ps. 
cxxxvi, 9). 3) To manifest them at once to one's 
spiritual Father, that he may apply to them a 
suitable remedy. 4) To bear in mind that the 
Lord God is intimately present with us, and 
clearly perceives the most hidden things of our 
heart, and that there is nothing so secret, as not 
to be open and manifest to his eyes. 5) To be 
always engaged with good thoughts, that thus 
the way may be shut against evil ones. 6) But 
we shall specially withstand thoughts of the first 
kind if we are mindful of our profession, for it 
becomes us to oppose them with much indigna- 
tion and blow them away from us, so that not 
even the least approach be allowed them; we 
shall resist these same, also, if we carefully close 
the doors of the exterior senses, and shun the 
company of those who may lead us to evil. 
Thoughts of the second kind are restrained by 
love of one's own progress, by flying idleness, 
and by the desire of divine intimacy. For it is 
most absurd to waste in mere vanity, without any 
profit, the moments of time allowed for knowing 
and loving God. In fine, for repressing the third 
kind it will be useful to consider that we live 
subject to God's providence, and if he has care 
of us, we have no reason to be anxious about 



224 PABT FIBST. 

necessary things, especially since it is written 
(Matt, vi, 33) : "Seek ye . . . first the 
kingdom of God, and his justice: and all these 
things shall be added unto you." 



§3. — Of the Government of the Sensitive 

Appetite. 
1. There is in us a twofold appetite: one in- 
tellective, that is to say, which follows the per- 
ception of the understanding, and is called the 
will; the other sensitive, which the knowledge 
of the interior sense precedes. And there are 
numerous differences between these appetites; 
for, in the first place, the will follows the guid- 
ance of reason, and the sensitive appetite the 
imagination or phantasy o Secondly, the actions 
of the will are simply free, and those of the sen- 
sitive appetite enjoy only a certain obscure and im- 
perfect freedom given, too, from another source, 
namely, on account of its union with the will, of 
which liberty the brutes are deficient. Thirdly, 
the will is an immaterial power residing in the 
essence of the soul, the appetite is a corporeal 
faculty inherent in matter. Fourthly, the for- 
mer is directed as well to individual as to general 
things, as well to those that are free from mat-* 
ter as to those that are sunk therein, the latter 
only to individual and material things. Fifthly, 
the will moves the sensitive appetite according to 
that of Genesis (iv, 7) : "The lust thereof shall 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAT. 225 

be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over 
it." And it moves, through the instrumentality 
of sensitive knowledge, by commanding the in- 
terior sense to take cognizance of those things 
which can excite this or that affection in the ap- 
petite; for example, to think of death for the 
purpose of rousing fear, or by directly command- 
ing the appetite itself to elicit or withhold an act 
concerning a proposed object; or by a sort of 
overflow or redundance, as when, from the vehe- 
mence of an act of the will, a cognate motion re- 
garding the same thing redounds in the sensitive 
appetite, on account of the conjunction and order 
which these two faculties have with each other. 
But the appetite does not always obey the will, 
but frequently resists it, as the Apostle says 
(Rom. vii, 23) : "I see another law in my mem- 
bers, fighting against the law of my mind," by 
which words the strife of concupiscence and the 
spirit is indicated, 

2. This sensitive appetite is divided into iras- 
cible and concupiscible, as into two faculties 
really distinct; because, as not only an inclina- 
tion and power to acquire things suitable and to 
shun what are opposed, but also to resist what 
are hurtful to them, are inherent in other things 
of nature subject to destruction; so, in the sen- 
sitive part, there must be found a twofold appe- 
titive power: one for attaining what suits, and 
(15— Spir. Life.) 



226 PABT FIBST. 

avoiding what is hurtful, which is called concu- 
piscible ; the other for repelling what is contrary, 
which is styled irascible. Now, by the concupis- 
cible power we deal with good or evil in the pur- 
suit or avoidance, as far as they are absolutely 
good or bad; by the irascible power we treat 
good or evil, as they are respectively hard and 
difficult to obtain or repulse. 

3. Now, all the evils, all the losses of the soul, 
spring from this twofold appetite; this is the 
source of all crimes and imperfections, this is the 
primary cause of our perdition. For this more 
ignoble part of our soul draws us to earthly 
things, makes us like to the brutes, and in it 
original sin mainly shows its strength. Here 
are battles, here falls, here victories, here crowns. 
Here, I say, are falls of the weak, victories of 
the brave, crowns of the conquerors; here, in 
fine, is the entire warfare and trial of virtue. 
This is the vineyard in which we ought to labor 
always; this the garden, which must be culti- 
vated without interruption, in which are noxious 
plants and ruinous germs that are to be entirely 
eradicated, in order that new shoots of virtues 
may be planted. This is the chief work of God's 
children, to make war on the inordinate affec- 
tions of this appetite, to govern and restrain 
them, that they may not wander about like brutes, 
but be subject to the lawful command of reason, 
as far as is possible in this life. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 227 

§4. — Of the Passions of the Sensitive Appetite. 

1. Passion is defined to be a movement of 
the sensitive appetite from the perception of 
good or evil with some change of the body 
that is not natural; namely, that passion, by 
which the appetite is excited from the idea 
of good or evil conceived by the interior senses, 
whence follows a change, by which the body 
suffers something, and according to the nature 
of the predominating affection is either con- 
tracted or expanded. But all passions are to be 
located in the heart, for every one finds by ex- 
perience, when any passion is first roused, that he 
is differently affected at heart. This we recog- 
nize when we are in dread, when we are joyful, 
when we are sad. And from this we infer that 
the passions do not properly belong to the rational 
appetite, and that, therefore, love, joy, sadness 
and other affections of this sort, as they are be- 
held in the will, cannot be called passions, properly 
speaking, but from a certain resemblance. We 
infer, besides, that passions are not judgments 
and opinions ; for example : that fear is not an 
opinion of imminent evil; for the objects of the 
passions are good and evil, which do not regard 
the perceptive power and its acts, such as are 
opinions and judgments, but the desiderative 
faculty and its offices. 

2. The number of passions is thus proved: 
Some of the passions regard good or evil simply. 



228 PABT FIB ST. 

as has been said already, and appertain to the 
concupiscible appetite; others regard difficult 
good or evil, and appertain to the irascible. The 
former are six — three in view of good, and a like 
number in view of evil. For on occasion of a 
good object, the love of it is first excited in the 
concupiscible faculty; but if that object be ab- 
sent, desire springs up ; if present, delectation or 
joy. In like manner, on occasion of an object in 
the guise of evil, hatred, the opposite to love, 
first arises in the concupiscible appetite; but, if 
the object we hate be absent, aversion, the oppo- 
site of desire, immediately arises; if present, 
sorrow or sadness, the foe of delectation, is pro- 
duced. But the passions, which regard difficult 
good or evil, are five: two with respect to. good, 
three with respect to evil. For, if an object 
which one judges he can obtain be presented un- 
der the nature of a difficult good, hope at once 
comes forth in the irascible faculty; if he think 
he cannot acquire it, despair comes into being. 
If the object be present, there is no movement 
regarding it in the irascible appetite, for what is 
already possessed has not a ground of difficulty. 
Difficult evil, likewise, is either present or not ; if 
not, fear or courage springs up ; fear, if we dread 
or shun it; courage, if we approach it. But if it 
be present, anger arises, by which the mind burns 
to take revenge and to repel present evil. There 
are, thex^efore, eleven passions. Love and ha- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 229 

tred, desire and aversion, delight and sadness, 
hope and despair, fear, courage and anger. 

3. All these passions are to be bridled by 
the spirit of mortification, if we are to make any 
progress in virtue. For they are like a mist 
which dims the light of reason ; they are shackles 
and chains holding the soul down to earth, that 
it may not be able to rise to spiritual things ; for, 
as the Apostle says (1 Cor. ii, 14) : "The sensual 
man perceiveth not these things that are of the 
Spirit of God.' 9 It was an error of the Stoics, 
by which some of the Greek monks were de- 
ceived, that a wise man ought to be impassible 
and free from any disturbance and affection 
whatever. But the doctrine of Catholic doctors 
teaches, that bad passions cannot be entirely sub- 
dued while we live here, but that they are to be 
mortified and recalled to duties of virtue, so that 
they may not only not hurt, but even be of serv- 
ice, and we may earn praise and a crown by their 
regulation. And that we shall effect, if we are 
careful by every endeavor to check them, when 
they first rise up against virtue; for it is easier 
to restrain the beginnings of affections than to 
govern their assault. Their rising then is to be 
cut off bv closing the exterior senses, nor must 
thought be allowed to dwell on the figure of an 
object, whence passion may be inflamed and ren- 
dered fierce. Again, it is to be borne in mind, 
that he alone is perfectly free, and truly king, 



230 PABT FIBST. 

who rules himself and governs his affections. 
Lastly, this attention is to commence with the 
regulation of that affection by w T hich we are 
more frequently assailed, making particular ex- 
amination of this matter and employing fervent 
prayer to God ; nor is there to be ever a cessa- 
tion from practice of this kind, until the defeated 
enemy learns to obey the command of reason. 



§5. — Of Love and Hatred. 
1. Love holds the primacy among the pas- 
sions, wherefore, the chief being subdued, the re- 
maining crowd of disorders shall be easily quelled. 
It is thus defined: Love is a complacence of 
good; namely, that first impression by which the 
appetite is affected from the knowledge of some 
good, while the known good pleases it. Thus 
more clearly : Love is a certain actual inclination 
of the appetite towards good, absolutely consid- 
ered as appropriate. Now, love is twofold: one 
of friendship, the other of concupiscence. Love 
of friendship is the tendency of the appetite to- 
wards good, considered by itself and as the end ; 
love of concupiscence the tendency towards good, 
as referred to another, or as applied, or to be 
applied to another. When, therefore, a person 
loves another on account of his own advantage, 
it is called love of concupiscence ; but when he 
loves a thing or person for their own sake, with- 
out any personal advantage, it is named love of 
friendship. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY, 231 

2. The causes of love are many: 1) The 
goodness of a thing perceived try cognition. But 
good is manifold, honorable, useful, delightful; 
having regard to the body, to the soul, and to 
exterior things. 2) Beauty, which in reality is 
the same as goodness, adding only this to the 
reason of good, that from its sight or cognition 
the appetite is delighted. For beauty is a cer- 
tain grace or comeliness, which, known by sense 
or reason, allures and impels more forcibly to 
love. Hence love is wont chiefly to begin through 
those senses by which the beauty of things is 
observed, such as sight and hearing. 3) Ee- 
semblance of the lover and the beloved; and a 
certain sympathy and agreement of minds and 
habits. 4) Love itself, for love is a magnet of 
love, and there is no greater incentive to love 
than to anticipate in loving. 5) Favors, for 
that mind would be too hard, which, though it 
will not bestow love, is, nevertheless, unwilling to 
respond when encouraged by favors. 6) Ex- 
terior modesty, nobility, industry, brightness of 
talent, and other like embellishments of body 
and mind, move to love. Also the mutual looks 
of the beautiful enkindle fire in their souls, and 
what comes forth through the eyes, whether that 
be light or other sort of fluid, melts and ruins 
lovers. In the last place may be added natural 
causes, which can be drawn from the tempera- 
ment of each person ; for those who have thinner 



232 PART FIB ST. 

humors, clearer spirits, a warmer heart, more 
delicate blood, and who are of a gentle and mild 
nature, are more prone to love. 

3. The effects of love are numerous and won- 
derful. And, indeed, if we speak of false love, 
which the foolish rabble limits to the body, since 
it is a defilement of true and most noble love 
through the abodes of concupiscence, all evils 
proceed from it. For this love, bordering on 
madness, clouds reason, disturbs counsels, breaks 
liberal spirits, and if it takes possession of a 
man, makes him at one time sad, at another 
merry, at one time humble, at another elated, at 
one time drunk, at another fasting, but always 
querulous, rash, wrathful and turbulent; it jokes, 
it sports, it pines, it grows pale, it sighs, it 
weeps, it is submissive, it deceives, it rages, it 
soothes, it begets hatred of self, hatred of all 
things, and at length leads to despair. But if 
there be question of love according to itself, its 
effects are usually thus enumerated. The first 
is the assimilation of the lover with the object 
loved; for the lover is assimilated by affection of 
the thing loved, and it is proved by experience 
that those who love endeavor, as far as possible, 
to conform in all things to the object loved. 2) 
The union of the lover with the object loved, not 
only because love is formally union, but because 
moreover, it joins and links together the lovers' 
wills, and makes a lover desire to become one 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 233 

with the object loved, always to long for its pres- 
ence, to share all goods with it, and open and re- 
veal to it all secrets of the heart. 3) Mutual 
attachment, by which the lover inseparably clings 
to the thing loved by understanding and affec- 
tion, so as continually to think of it, incessantly 
to meditate on it ; hence the proverbs : The soul 
of the lover is where it loves, rather than where 
it quickens; The lover lives where he is not, he 
dies where he is. 4) Ecstasy, which is a sort of 
forcible carrying of the soul outside its proper 
and customary state; which occurs when the 
soul, collecting within itself all its forces, is after- 
wards borne with all its might towards its be- 
loved, from which it happens that the body may 
seem deprived of all power of the soul, nay, of 
its very presence. 5) Zeal, since the lover strives 
to remove everything that can prevent his pos- 
session of the object loved. 6) When the thing 
loved is absent, love begets in the lover a sad- 
ness, which is called melancholy of spirit, ren- 
dering the lover's mind anxious, uneasy and de- 
jected, on account of the loved object's absence. 
The same absence produces a burning and vehe- 
ment desire of beholding and possessing the 
thing loved, and this desire is called fervor. 7) 
If the loved object be present, the heart dilates 
and opens, as if wishing to receive and embrace 
it within itself, which effect is named liquefac- 
tion. There are, also, other natural and physical 



234 PABT FIBST. 

effects, such as lovers being pale, dirty and lean ; 
for while the whole power of the soul is turned 
towards the object loved, it is insufficient to di- 
gest nutriment, whence it follows that the bodily 
members grow extenuated and pale. 

4. Remedies of love are most difficult, for 
love checked presses the more. But it is requi- 
site, in the first place, to withstand its beginnings ; 
for this affection creeps in so insensibly, that we 
perceive we love before we consider the wisdom 
of loving; but if we oppose the commencements 
by all means, the cure shall be easy. 2) All 
thought of the loved object is to be avoided, lest 
the goodness or beauty apparent therein inflame 
the affection more; but restraint of the eyes is, 
above all, to be practiced, through which wounds 
reach the heart, and it is far better to suffer a fall 
off the feet than by the eyes. 3) For expelling 
this disease it is useful to discuss and weigh the 
ills and inconveniences of the loved object, that 
may lessen its beauty and amiability. 4) The 
object loved is to be shunned, and, as far as pos- 
sible, not even admitted to intimacy nor to con- 
versation ; for as intercourse cements, so separa- 
tion dissolves a foolish friendship. This will 
indeed be bitter at first, but in course of time 
shall be made sweet, as we can recall the affec- 
tion itself if we wish. This ailment annoys man 
so obstinately, that it can be got rid of only 
by aid of time and by absence; that is, until it 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 235 

expires from weariness. 5) The mind is to be 
occupied with other affairs, which produce cares 
and turn the memory from the object loved, and 
all indolence is to be shunned. 6) This is a sure 
safeguard against love's wounds, to listen to 
nothing of an amatory nature, and to reflect .con- 
tinually how base, how wretched, how fleeting, 
what a mere nothing is that which is loved. A 
sense of shame has also cured many, while they 
grieved to be pointed at with the finger and made 
the talk of the rabble ; while the turpitude of 
their situation devoid of fruit, full of disgrace 
and liable to repentance, occurred to their mind. 
Lastly, it will be of use to consider, that it is in 
our own power to be cured ; then it is necessary 
to divert love to God, to virtue, to everlasting 
rewards ; that is to say, to those things that are 
truly amiable, that the good love may drive away 
the bad, and man's noble mind may be ashamed 
to wallow in the mire of earth's vile love. We 
are not told that we must love nothing, for who 
can live without love ? But let us love what is 
truly good, truly beautiful. Let us love him 
who made us, who delivered himself up for us, 
because he hath first loved us. Only good or 
bad loves make good or bad lives. 

5. Hatred is a sort of repugnance or aversion 
to what is thought evil. And we call evil both 
the privation itself of good and all that which 
opposes another, and causes a defect and priva- 



236 PABT FIB ST. 

tion of good. Now hatred is twofold — of a per- 
son and of a thing. Hatred of a person is an 
act by which we desire evil to any one, merely 
because his person itself is hostile to us. Hatred 
of a thing is an act by which we desire evil to 
anything, not because it .harms us, but because 
of itself it is displeasing to us, and is hateful, as 
if contrary and inimical to us. The former 
hatred is named that of enmity, the second of 
aversion. The lazy, timid and suspicious, who 
dread harm from every side, easily become sub- 
ject to this affection. There are even some men 
born such that they hate all others, who, like 
ill-omened birds, hold their own gloom also in 
detestation. The causes of hatreds are the op- 
posite of love's causes, and more poignant than 
the latter because depraved. The first cause is 
all evil, either real or apparent. Next unseem- 
liness, imperfection, dissimilitude, natural an- 
tipathy. We likewise hate unpleasant, trouble- 
some, offensive things, which produce loathing, 
which are contrary to us. Even love excites 
hatred, because we are accustomed to hate what- 
ever is bad for the thing we love. Finally, simil- 
itude itself sometimes accidentally causes ha- 
tred; that is, when it is an impediment to each 
of the two resembling one another acquiring the 
same good. And it is to be observed that not 
only individuals, but also classes of persons or 
things are held in hatred; for the entire genus 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 237 

of robbers, traitors, assassins, evil-doers is hate- 
ful to us, and, besides, all kind of turpitude. The 
effects of hatred are dissensions, quarrels, dis- 
putes and alienations of minds. Hatred is re- 
pressed by exciting the mind to love through the 
consideration of some good in that which is 
hated. And if the object of our hatred be a 
man, we must remember how great an evil it is 
to exclude him from our love, who is destined 
with us to eternal glory, whom God loves and 
whom all the saints await. Therefore, the mind 
is to be forced to think and speak well of him, 
and honor him before others, nor is he to be re- 
pulsed from kind conversation, and mutual friend- 
ship is to be cultivated by various services; 
prayer is to be offered for him, and the losses 
arising from hatred are to be taken into account. 
Then it is to be applied to those things which 
truly deserve hatred, such as the hicleousness of 
sin, and even damnation. In fine, we should 
mentally turn over the precept of our Lord say- 
ing (Matt, v, 44) : "Love your enemies, do good 
to them that hate you." But if we are com- 
manded to love our enemies, whom ought we to 
hate? 

§6. — Of Desire and Aversion. 
1. Desire or concupiscence is an eager long- 
ing for good that is absent, and not yet obtained. 
But some desires are natural, others unnatural. 



238 PART FIB ST. 

The natural are those which are in us by nature, 
such as eagerness for food and drink. The un- 
natural are those of things which nature of itself 
does not wish for, but which are desired at the 
discretion of reason, such as the coveting of 
honor, glory, science, fame and riches. The 
former are limited, for nature does not aim at 
the infinite ; wherefore w r e seek food up to a cer- 
tain measure, that is, until hunger is allayed. 
The latter are infinite, for human ambition is 
confined to no limits. The former are common 
to brutes and men, the latter are peculiar to 
man. Desire springs from almost the same 
causes as love, and has the same effects. Those 
who are of a warmer temperament desire more 
eagerly; those of a milder temperament less ar- 
dently but more constantly. And they who seek 
anything very eagerly are strangely tormented 
until they obtain the thing sought for. Hence 
sighs, groans, tears, cares, anxieties. 

2. The remedies given for love regard this 
matter too, to which the following may be added : 
1) We are to reflect, that the created thing cov- 
eted cannot satisfy us; nay, when we have ob- 
tained it, that the mind remains no less void and 
restless than before. 2) Since the desire is for 
possession, it is folly to desire those things that 
always fly and pass away. "For the fashion of 
this world passeth away" (1 Cor. vii, 31). How 
many things have we before desired, which when 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 239 

obtained we have immediately despised and found 
full of trouble? The same shall be the case with 
that we now covet. 3) We must watch and 
fear, lest concupiscence deceive us under pretext 
of necessity or utility. Therefore, it is requisite 
carefully to note and scrutinize its movements 
and restrain them. 4) We are often unable to 
acquire what we wish, because the more powerful 
snatch it from us ; and to allow a desire of that 
thing, is nothing else but calling in a tormentor 
to torture and annoy us. But if we are able to 
obtain it, still only sin, injury of soul, grief and 
repentance shall result from its acquisition. 5) 
If what we desire is out of our power, why do 
we stretch out the soul, that it may be able to 
reach the desired object? We always follow as 
in a circular engine, but never overtake. It is 
better, therefore, to be indifferent, and lop off 
all desires, otherwise we shall be worried with 
perpetual torment. Happy is he who is re- 
signed to God, who desires nothing very much, 
who shapes himself to circumstances, who says, 
does God wish me to be safe and sound, does 
he wish me to be sick? does he wish me rich, 
does he wish me poor? does he wish me to go 
to Rome, or to remain here? I am prepared for 
either alternative. If once we shall have said, 
when shall we go to Rome? all is over with us; 
for if this our desire be not fulfilled, we shall be 
wretched. Finally, death and the other calam- 



240 PART FIB ST. 

ities of this life are to be kept before our eyes ; 
for he who ever thinks he is about to die, easily 
despises all things. 

3. Aversion is a passion opposite to desire. 
For it is a desire of fleeing evil not yet present, 
lest it may become so. It has no special name, 
and is called aversion or detestation, which name 
is common to the other passions that are con- 
cerned with evil. Still, it differs from them, be- 
cause in hatred there is displeasure of evil, in 
sadness presence of evil, in fear detestation of 
evil with a view to existence now about to be; 
but aversion absolutely regards absent evil, and 
retreats from it, that it may not become present. 
Its causes and effects are the opposite to those 
of desire, and are well-nigh identical with the 
causes and effects of hatred. The remedies, 
which we have sketched above against hatred, 
are to be applied also to this. Besides, we must 
remember that we detest many things as adverse 
and contradictory to our appetite which, because 
they are beneficial to the spirit, we rather incon- 
sistently loathe. But if we take a bitter draught, 
because it brings health to the body, why shall 
we not endure many bitter and disagreeable 
things contributing to the health of the mind? 
"The sufferings of this time are not worthy to 
be compared with the glory to come, that shall 
be revealed in us." (Rom. viii, 18.) 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 241 

§7. — Of Joy and Sadness. 
1. Joy properly belongs to the will, delight 
to sense, although the distinction is generally 
neglected by writers. Gladness also, pleasure 
and exultation are usually taken for delight, 
whereas they rather express its effect. We speak 
of joy or delight, which is a passion of the sensi- 
tive appetite, and is thus defined : Complacence 
of the appetite regarding good, present and al- 
ready obtained; for though we may be some- 
times delighted with past or future goods, still 
that takes place when we represent them by the 
imagination as present to us. But some delights 
are natural, which are of goods appertaining to 
nature, such as pleasure taken in food and drink; 
others rational, which are of goods appertaining 
to reason, as of honor, fame, power, gain, dig- 
nity and performance of virtue; others contrary 
to nature, as when any one from a depraved sense 
is delighted with eating clay and coals. The 
causes of joy are: 1) Present good known, and 
all apprehended together. For pleasure springs 
from acquired union with appropriate good. 2) 
The operation, whether that by which we arrive 
at suitable good, or that by which we perceive 
the acquisition itself of good. 3) Variety, for 
we are covetous of many things, and are, there- 
fore, delighted with manifold succession of things. 
4) The recollection of past labor, for the greater 
(16— Spir. Iiife.) 



242 FABT FIB ST. 

the evils we have escaped the more delightful 
the security we afterwards enjoy. 5) Memory 
and hope, for by memory past goods are pos- 
sessed, and become as if present; and future 
goods by hope. 

2. The first effect of joy is an expansion of 
the heart and bowels and diffusion of blood to 
the outer parts. 2) Agreeableness and exulta- 
tion, with a certain movement of the body and 
members. 3) Laughter, which is excited by the 
spreading of the vital spirits. 4) Health of 
body from cheerfulness, if the delight be moder- 
ate, otherwise it hurts if too profuse. 5) Thirst 
or desire, and it causes that as well on the part 
of its object, when it does not satisfy the appe- 
tite, as is usual with corporal delights; as on the 
part of the operation, if the operation be imper- 
fect, such as is delight of God imperfectly known 
in this life, which excites a desire of knowing him 
more perfectly in heaven. 6) Disgust, which is 
an effect of corporal delights, as when a person 
has eaten too much. 7) Perfection of operation, 
both because delight is a good superadded to 
operation, and because the agent, while he is 
delighted in his action, applies himself to it 
more ardently, and performs it more carefully. 
But, on the other hand, delight regarding one 
operation blunts and lessens another, as the de- 
lights of the body impede the operations of th§ 
mind. 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 243 

3. The remedies by which delight is repressed 
are several : 1) Earthly pleasures pass away and 
flee from us, and a brief and inconstant and in- 
stantaneously vanishing delight begets protracted 
sorrows, continual annoyances and infamy, and 
often eternal torments. 2) It is highly unbe- 
coming a christian man, who professes to pursue 
everlasting and celestial goods, in the midst of so 
many dangers of mind and body, so many causes 
of most just regret, to rejoice after the manner 
of fools, and to be transported with laughter and 
apply his mind to perishable things. 3) Christ 
our Lord, the best judge of things, calls blessed 
not those who laugh, but who shed tears of de- 
votion and compunction : ' 'Blessed are they that 
mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matt, v, 5). 
4) Vain gladness, unless it be curbed, dissi- 
pates the mind, renders persons light, careless 
and talkative, eager for exterior pleasures with- 
out any relish for the divine. 5) Even in lawful 
delights themselves, and in relaxations of mind 
from time to time indispensable, certain vices are 
to be avoided; namely, lest great loss of time 
take place in them ; lest the mind be so dissipated 
with immoderate joy that it begins to shudder at 
labors, and betakes itself to them reluctantly; 
lest the imprinted images of vain things be fixed 
in the mind, by which both devotion grows 
cool and the soul is distracted with troublesome 
thoughts. 6) According to the Apostle (Philip, 



244 PART FIRST. 

iv, 4) we ought so rejoice in the Lord, that our 
modesty may be known to all men; that we may 
temper joy of soul, lest it break forth too im- 
moderately in bursts of laughter, exclamations, 
unbecoming motions, which are indications of 
levity and stumbling-blocks to our neighbors. 
7) We should see attentively that joy itself be 
not the end of our joy, nor any earthly advan- 
tage, but, raising the mind to God, let all our 
mirth be referred to his glory, as the holy 
Prophet admonishes (Ps. xxxi, 11): "Be glad 
in the Lord, and rejoice ye just." 8) Decency 
of person, age and rank is to be observed; and 
gladness is to be so moderated, that we may be 
able with freedom to pass from joy to grief, if 
necessary. 9) If the soul pluck out joy from 
temporal and transitory things, it acquires liberty 
of spirit, calmness of reason, peaceful confidence 
in God and tranquility of mind; moreover, it se- 
cures greater joy and consolation in creatures by 
being attached to them in no quality ; for attach- 
ment is a sort of solicitude, which, like a noose, 
fetters and galls the spirit. 10) True joy springs 
only from a consciousness of virtues. No one 
can rejoice, except the just, brave and temperate 
man. He who is glad of the best part of him- 
self, truly rejoices. Let us set this joy in oppo- 
sition to noxious pleasure, for the sweetness of 
celestial things being once tasted, all earthly joy 
shall become silly. 



OF THE PUBQATIVE WAY. 245 

4. Grief or sadness is a passion, by which the 
sensitive appetite, with a sort of disturbance and 
restlessness, execrates evil already present, either 
in reality or according to the conception of it. 
The division of sadness is manifold: Firstly, it 
is divided into that which follows sensitive ap- 
prehension, such as the brutes can have; and 
into that which follows man's imagination, hav- 
ing connection w r ith reason, w T hich accordingly 
is proper to man, and is specially named sadness. 
Secondly, it is divided into interior and exterior. 
The interior is that which occurs at the mere 
apprehension of the imagination; the exterior, 
which is caused from evil connected w r ith the 
body and apprehended by exterior sense. Third- 
ly, sadness, w T hich is proper to man, is subdivided 
into various quasi species. The first is compas- 
sion, which is sadness at another's ill regarded 
as one's own. 2) Envy, sadness at another's 
good, as far as it is thought to be evil to us. 
3) Nemesis, sadness at another's temporal good, 
of which we judge him unworthy. 4) Rivalry, 
because another has obtained a good coveted by 
us. 5) Jealousy, because another enjoys a thing 
desired by us. 6) Repentance of past evil. 7) 
Sloth, which so molests as to prevent even the 
use of the members. 8) Anxiety, or perplexity 
so pressing that there seems to be no escape. 
9) Impatience, sadness of mind, intolerant of 
any labor and worry. 



246 PABT FIBST. 

5. The first cause of sadness is evil known to 
be contiguous or present. 2) Loss of a good 
possessed and desired; whence w r e are wont to 
be dejected at the termination of banquets, pas- 
times and shows. 3) Delaying of a thing loved 
and wished for (Prov. xiii, 12) : for "hope that 
is deferred afflict eth the soul." 4) Not to be 
able to overcome the power which impedes the 
acquisition or enjoyment of a good desired. 5) 
Anger thatis not satisfied, that is, when vengeance 
cannot be taken. 6) Recollection of evil com- 
mitted. 7) Despair, when no means appear for 
obtaining the thing hoped for. 8) Natural tem- 
perament of the body, for those who abound in 
melancholic humor are more prone to sadness, and 
what are wont to beget melancholy, as studies, 
vigils, pains and certain nutriments, produce 
sadness likewise. 9) In fine, sadness itself is its 
own cause, for the more we are dejected the more 
of melancholic humor we accumulate, and are thus 
made more disposed to sadness. 

6. The effects of sadness are various, for, 
firstly, if it be immoderate, it impedes all opera- 
tion, especially of the understanding and reason. 
2) Above all other passions it brings great harm 
to the body, because it obstructs the natural ex- 
tension of the blood and spirits, and induces sloth 
and heaviness. 3) It ingulfs and weighs down 
the mind, and deprives it of the power of learn- 
ing, and is an obstacle to all goods. 4) It in- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 24tl 

duces sleep, makes fond of dark places, hateful 
of the common resort of men, and produces grief 
and tears, sighs and groans, a slow gait, paleness 
of countenance and drooping of the head. 5) 
Finally, sadness is accompanied by mourning, 
which is a doleful sadness : by misery, which is a 
toilsome and protracted sadness; by grief, which 
tortures and racks ; by lamentation, which is with 
wailing; by solicitude, which is with thought; by 
vexation, which is permanent sadness ; by anguish, 
which is with bodily trouble ; by despair, which 
is without any expectation of a better issue. 
The Wiseman rightly says (Prov. xxv, 20): 
"As a moth doth by a garment, and a worm by 
the wood: so the sadness of a man consumeth 
the heart.*' 

7. We should therefore obey the Holy Ghost, 
saying (Eccl. xxx, 24, 25): "Drive away sad- 
ness far from thee. For sadness hath killed 
many, and there is no profit in it." And, first, 
let us consider that the efficient cause of sadness 
is not so much the evil itself that presses, as our 
opinion and estimation of it; to which opinion, 
since it is in our power, it is not very difficult to 
apply a cure; for it is folly to be troubled, not 
by things, but by opinions of things, to dread 
the spectres of evils, and torment one's self with 
the idea of evil. That no one is injured except 
by himself , is the opinion of all the wise, confirmed 
by experience. Secondly, it will aid in expelling 



248 PABT FIRST. 

sadness to study beforehand any evils that can 
occur, that if they happen they may find us pre- 
pared ; for darts foreseen strike with less effect. 

3) If anything contrary happen, it is to be ac- 
cepted, not as evil, but as an occasion of exer- 
cising patience, magnanimity, and other splendid 
virtues, and as a means of winning divine favor. 

4) As far as possible, thought is to be turned 
aw 7 ay from a present grievance and pressing evil 
and diverted to those goods which one already 
possesses, or hopes to obtain. Then it must be 
borne in mind, that what befalls is human, and 
therefore more tolerable than w 7 hat others may 
have suffered and now endure. 5) The reflec- 
tion, also, that he who yields to sadness does not 
thereby diminish or remove the evil, but miser- 
ably impairs himself and augments the disease, 
is most effectual in consoling. 6) It is neces- 
sary to call to mind past liberation from similar 
evil, that hope may be roused of escaping from 
the present calamity, and it may thus be more 
lightly endured. Lastly, all those things, on the 
whole, mitigate sadness, which bring delight 
lawful in the sight of God, such as music, sleep, 
bathing, comfort of friends, and likewise con- 
templation of truth, especially of divine things. 
Shedding of tears also lessens grief, because, 
since it is a proper action for a man in affliction, 
it brings some delight. But these remedies are 
adapted to hurtful sadness, for there is a certain 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 249 

other sadness according to God, which has a 
salutary effect, namely, that which is begotten 
on account of sins, or of small progress in the 
pursuit of virtues, or of deferred hope of seeing 
God according to that of the Psalmist (cxix, 5) : 
"Wo is me, that my sojourning is prolonged." 



§8. — Of Hope and Despair. 
1. Hope is a passion of the soul in the iras- 
cible appetite concerning future good, arduous or 
difficult, still possible to be obtained. Its causes 
are nearly the same, as those of love and desire. 
Others are: 1) All those things which render 
us capable of acquiring difficult goods, such 
as riches, strength, talent, industry, favors of 
princes. 2) Ignorance and inadvertence of diffi- 
culties, wherefore youths have the highest hope. 
3) Experience, since it has been ascertained in 
practice, that difficulties can be surmounted. Its 
effects are longanimity in waiting, patience in 
enduring, courage in undertaking, alacrity in 
performing. But hope is light, obscure, blind, 
doubtful, slender, uncertain, and as some one has 
said, a dream of those awake. The other effects 
of hope are the same, too, as those of desire. 
As a remedy for hope is first to be taken into ac- 
count the vanity of things which we hope for 
(Eccl. xxxiv, 1) : "The hopes of a man that is 
void of understanding are vain and deceitful," 
says the Wiseman. 2) The examples of those 



250 PABT FIBST. 

who, deceived by vain hope, have miserably 
perished, are to be thought over. 3) It is neces- 
sary to turn hope to celestial and true goods and 
labor for their acquisition, that empty hope may 
vanish. All hope and confidence are to be placed 
in God, without whose favor no difficulty can be 
overcome. 5) Finally, contempt of the world 
and despising of earthly things shall be profit- 
able, for no person hopes for what he despises, 
but is the more struck with fear, lest the thing 
despised may ever happen to him. This passion 
presupposes desire, and is divided into rational 
and irrational, as we have before explained of 

2. Despair is opposed to hope, and is a pas- 
sion of the soul in the irascible appetite regarding 
difficult good, which cannot be had, that is, 
when the appetite, as if overcome by the difficulty 
of attaining a good, retreats from it viewed as im- 
possible. Its causes are defect of powers, talent 
and industry, inactivity, pusillanimity, despond- 
ency of mind, excessive apprehension of difficul- 
ties, too great and faulty distrust of one's self 
and similar others. It has the most injurious 
effects, for it casts down the spirit to everything 
most vile, produces sadness and torpor of mind, 
and numerous suspicions, also impatience, sloth, 
aversion to labor and bodily illness; it even 
causes hatred of life, when it is very oppressive, 
and prevails on some depraved persons to lay 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 251 

violent hands on themselves. It is overcome by 
rousing the mind with the example of those, 
who even in very severe straits have courageously 
surmounted every difficulty. Then it is neces- 
sary to urge one's self to attempt more arduous 
things, by reflecting, that what seems difficult in a 
thing is often not difficult, if the false notion of 
it be renounced. Finally, a beginning must be 
made, for God assists those who make an effort, 
and therefore confidence is to be stimulated by 
consideration of the divine power and goodness. 



§9. — Of Fear, Courage and Anger. 
1. Fear is a passion of the soul regarding 
future evil, arduous, or difficult, which may how- 
ever be resisted. For fear has attached to it 
some hope, though small, of escaping that evil 
which impends. It is divided into various spe- 
cies, the first of which is called sluggishness, 
which is a fear of labor exceeding one's powers, 
by which he is held back from the work. The 
second is shame, which is fear of the loss of rep- 
utation on account of some base deed of the past. 
3) Bashfulness, fear of committing some base- 
ness, that may attach infamy to its author. 4) 
Astonishment, dread of a great evil, the result of 
which cannot be discovered. 5) Amazement, 
dread of evil, which on account of novelty and 
inexperience may seem enormous. 6) Terror, 
dread inspired by another on account of a threat 



252 PART FIB ST. 

of evil. 7) Agony, fear of evil, which the per- 
son in dread himself can in no wise oppose. But 
the first cause of fear is future evil, which can 
with difficulty be avoided, and it heightens fear, 
if it be sudden, because it deprives reason of de- 
liberation ; if unknown, because it is thus thought 
greater than it may be in reality; if close by, 
because it threatens more fiercely. Secondly, 
fear arises from love, for there is no other cause 
to dread, except that we fear either obtaining the 
object loved, or are alarmed about losing it al- 
ready obtained. Thirdly, want of power to avert 
or endure evil causes fear ; wherefore he is less 
timid, who is possessed of riches, strength, a 
multitude of friends and power to oppose evils. 
There are also other physical causes derived from 
the contrariety of things and natural tempera- 
ment ; for those, who are of a colder constitution, 
are more fearful, and the sheep fears the wolf 
by nature's instinct. 

2. The effects of fear are many : 1) Contrac- 
tion of the spirits and blood to the innermost parts 
of the breast; for terrified nature collects all its 
forces, as it were, into the citadel. 2) Paleness 
in the face and cold in the extremities, because 
heat has retired to the interior parts together 
with the blood. 3) If the fear be violent, trem- 
bling will follow, such as happens to those in fever, 
and agitation, so that one can scarcely survive. 
4) Hence follow the standing erect of the hair, 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 253 

then stupefaction and consternation, from which 
sometimes loss of breath and death may arise, 
because the natural heat of the heart is suddenly 
smothered, from too much blood collecting to 
the interior parts. 5) Fear begets suspicions, 
disturbs the mind, confuses the thoughts, hence 
persons struck with fear are deprived of counsel 
and wisdom. 6) From fear the voice trembles, 
the tongue stammers, the teeth chatter, the bow- 
els are relaxed, the hair bristles; and if the fear 
be great and sudden, grayness of hair is caused, 
because by withdrawal of the spirits and heat, 
that moisture, which is the hairs' nutriment, is 
destroyed. But when fear is moderate, and does 
not affect the mind with excessive disquiet, it has 
this effect, that it renders reason more keen to 
devise measures and take counsel on account of 
the solicitude it brings. But we heal fear by all 
the remedies with which we cure love, desire 
and sadness; for he who neither loves nor de- 
sires a certain good, fears not its loss; and he 
who feels not an evil present, dreads it not to 
happen. In the next place, the thought of the 
eminent men, who remained fearless in like cir- 
cumstances, nor swerved from virtue on account 
of impending evil, has great efficacy in allaying 
fear. It is profitable, too, to think, that the evil 
we dread either is not an evil, or not a great evil, 
or is not to occur. For we have often feared 
some things that were very far from us. But 



254 - PART FIBST. 

supposing it be a great evil and likely to happen; 
still it is not becoming to be tormented before 
llie time ; sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. 
In fine, the most effectual remedy of fear is true 
charity, by which one may love God and feel 
that he is beloved by him; for "if God be for 
us, who is against us?" (Bom. viii, 31); like- 
wise unconquerable reliance on God the most 
powerful protector, because (Ps. cxxiv, 1): 
"They that trust in the Lord, as mount Sion 
shall not be moved for ever;" and they shall say 
with the Prophet (Ibid, xvii, 30) : "Through my 
God I shall go over a wall." 

3. Courage is a passion, arduous in pursuit 
of evil, that is, consisting in approaching dangers, 
for it approaches danger in order to overcome it. 
The cause of courage is hope, and all those 
things that excite hope and desire; for, because 
we hope to overcome a difficult evil and impend- 
ing danger, we boldly follow it up. Anger, too, 
causes courage, both because it excites heat about 
the heart, and because it moves the appetite 
to means of vengeance. The expectation of ob- 
taining greater good and undergoing less danger 
strengthens the same, then the hope of approach- 
ing aid, and, lastly, the natural temperament of 
the body. The inebriated and youths are also 
more courageous, because in these the estimation 
of impending evil is small; those, too, who 
abound in all things, because they believe they 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 255 

can surmount all evils. But the effects of 
courage are the attainment of the wished-for 
good; next, a good opinion of one's self, if an 
affair succeed well; and if it attain not the de- 
sired end, indignation, anger, discomfiture and 
disasters. God's justice, which severely chas- 
tises the wicked and strongly opposes their ef- 
forts, bridles courage for evil. Discreet humility 
and humble discretion restrain in the just their 
courage for what is above their strength, that, 
considering they can do nothings without God, 
they may attempt those things only in which 
they shall have God as helper. Those who rely 
too much on themselves, find, at last, how slender 
are human powers without God's assistance, from 
whom all our sufficiency, all our strength pro- 
ceeds. 

4. Anger is a passion in the irascible appetite 
concerning present evil, inasmuch as it is to be 
repelled with some difficulty. It is divided into 
three species: gall, rage and frenzy. Gall is 
an^er suddenlv taking fire. Rage is abiding and 
protracted anger. Frenzy is anger never sub- 
siding until vengeance is taken. Anger springs 
from sadness, because present evil excites it. 
It springs from temperament, because the bilious 
are more prone to it. Lastly, it springs from 
hardships and injuries inflicted, and from all 
those things that show contempt and neglect, 
because since man covets his own excellence 



256 PABT FIB ST. 

above all, he is exceedingly angry with those 
by whom he thinks himself despised. The ef- 
fects of anger are these : 1) Delight on account 
of revenge, which is deemed a sort of good, as 
far as it removes die injury done, whether the 
revenge itself be really present, or only by hope 
and imagination. 2) Warmth of blood about 
the heart, and its diffusion and that of the spir- 
its which, like auxiliary forces, offer themselves 
to take revenge. 3) Anger, more than other 
passions, impedes the use of reason, because 
more than the others it disturbs the organs of 
interior operations, w 7 h^nce it happens that the 
incensed commit some excesses which they after- 
wards would not have done. 4) Anger some- 
times induces speech, sometimes silence. Speech 
is induced by warmth of heart; silence, when 
the commotion of an^er is so great as to im- 
pede the tongue's movement. 5) Anger is fiery, 
gall-like, furious and violent, through which the 
ej^es glow, the voice trembles, the tongue stam- 
mers, the face is lit up with a suffused blush, 
and soon grows pale. Lastly, from anger spring 
hatreds, disputes, altercations, animosities, wars, 
slaughters, contentions, and countless other ca- 
lamities. 

5. To avert others' anger against us it is nec- 
essary, in the first place, to tolerate anger and 
not to resist an angry man, lest he be more in- 
censed, as a flame is augmented the more by fan- 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 257 

ning; in the next place is to be removed sus- 
picion of contempt, which is the chief cause of an- 
ger, and that by acknowledgment of the fault 
and deprecation of it in humble and subdued lan- 
guage. But the manner of repressing anger in 
ourselves has already been given above, when we 
treated of the capital vices. Now I say, briefly, 
that the following are the most effectual remedies 
against anger: To attempt nothing in word or 
deed when we are roused by anger, but to remain 
quiet until that heat subsides of itself; to put 
aside or lessen our opinion of the supposed in- 
jury; to reflect that some time later we are likely 
to think otherwise of the injury, than we do at 
present, and, therefore, that we should do now 
what we shall do soon after: to represent to our- 
selves the misery of him, from whom we suffer 
an injury; for he is very wretched who acts ill, 
but nobody is incensed against a wretch; finally, 
to reckon the inconveniences, which shall follow 
in a much higher degree, if we wish to avenge 
the injury. 

Chapter XVI. — Of the Mortification of 

Self-love. 

The old man drawing his origin from the cor- 
rupt seed of sinful Adam, which is the fuel of 
sin — concupiscence — transmitted by a certain law 
of inheritance to all his posterity, if he be con- 

(17— Spir. Life.) 



258 PABT FIRST. 

sidered as a sort of tree, has for roots self-love, 
for trunk propensity to evils, for branches dis- 
orders, for leaves vicious habits, in fine, for fruits 
works, words and thoughts, which are at vari- 
ance with the divine law. Lest then the branches 
of his passions pruned with the sword of mortifi- 
cation sprout again, and break forth into leaves 
and fruits, it is necessary to lay the axe to the 
root of the tree, and pluck up and entirely extir- 
pate all its fibres. Now self-love is twofold, one 
right and good, which is the rule of fraternal 
charity, as it is written (Matt, xix, 19): "Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," that is, 
when we love ourselves for sake of God and eter- 
nal life; the other deformed and most wicked, 
when man sets himself up as his own idol and de- 
sires to enjoy himself as his last end, casting 
down God himself from the highest excellence, 
that he may pander to his own conveniences. 
This is the inordinate love, of which there is 
question now, the source and origin of all evils, 
directly at variance with charity, of which the 
character is not to seek its own. The sum and 
highest degree of all mortification consists in 
complete abnegation of this; for all improve- 
ment of the soul is vain and imperfect, unless it 
be enhanced by renouncement of self-love. 



§1. — How Pernicious Self -love Is. 
1. No ailment is more severe than self-love, 
no plague more detestable, no poison more de- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 259 

structive. It feeds on the interior powers of the 
soul, obscures the light of reason, allures to all 
vices, is the cause of all evils. He who nurtures 
this venom within his vitals is displeasing to him- 
self, and driven from his normal state of mind 
by deceptive tricks, as it were, roams about in- 
constant, and repeatedly changing business, pur- 
suits and pleasures, never finds rest; through 
senselessness he understands not salutary ad- 
monitions, pines away with continual cares, 
odious to all, intolerable to himself; with sac- 
rilegious perversity he diverts right intention 
from God to himself, and though deceived by a 
miserable error he may seem to himself to do 
things for God, still, in reality he regards only 
himself, seeks only himself, and in a manner dis- 
putes with God himself for the supremacy of 
end. But if once this love shall have obtained 
from a man that it be the end of his pursuits and 
actions, it is rendered infinite, immense, insa- 
tiable. For as, if one were to seek bodilv health 
as an end, he would desire it the greatest pos- 
sible; so he who seeks nothing else but himself 
and his own advantage, is ever more greedy of 
that, and may be said to resemble fire, which 
never savs enough, for nothing is enough for his 
insatiable greed. But he who desires health and 
other temporal goods, that he may use them for 
the service of God, makes an end of desiring 
them, content with what suffices and is suited for 
the end in view. 



260 PABT FIB ST. 

2. Since this love is lawless and contrary to 
reason, it incites with wild impetuosity to the 
pursuit of those things to which it is inclined, so 
that no account is taken either of life, or riches, 
or fame, or reputation, or eternal life; it fears 
no loss, temporal or eternal, that it may satisfy 
its covetousness, because in truth the human 
heart can judge nothing good or bad, except that 
which self-love imprints on it. Hence there 
arises in a man loving himself such inconstancy, 
that he knows not either what to wish or what to 
do; for as that disease, which physicians call op- 
pilation, obstructs the passage of food, and pro- 
duces divers other diseases, and the most differ- 
ent from each other, so self-love shuts up the 
approach to perfection, and leads into vices en- 
tirely opposed to one another, now raising a man 
up into rash confidence, now casting him down 
into despair, now filling him with vain gladness, 
now wasting him away with grief. It makes the 
soul like to an untamed and headlong steed, since 
it suffers no restraints, and runs wildly with the 
utmost freedom whithersoever the impulse drives 
it; likewise to a ship tossed by the waves and 
storms; for it is driven hither and thither by the 
movements of its disorders and desires as if by 
the force of winds, and is often dashed against 
rocks, and perishes in lamentable shipwreck. It 
is the decision of Christ our Lord that self-love 
is a true death of man, for he says (John, xii, 
25) : "He that loveth his life shall lose it." 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 261 

3. Self-love is, likewise, of a nature so de- 
praved and penetrating that it mingles not only 
with things of earth, but also with those of 
heaven. For how many are there who are ap- 
parently occupied with pious affairs in a spirit 
very foreign to them? How many, satisfied with 
the exterior semblance of sanctity, while by base 
pretence they strive to catch only popular favor, 
are dragged to destruction ? Those infected with 

CO 

this poison taint spiritual joys themselves, if they 
ever taste any ; for in spiritual exercises they do 
not serve, as they ought, the divine glory alone, 
but their own will, their own convenience and 
profit, seeking themselves, not God. Finally, 
this bane dares to corrupt sacred things them- 
selves, intrudes on the use of the Sacraments, 
the occupation of prayer and meditation, and 
every action of higher perfection. Not a few 
pray, no doubt, cultivate virtues and frequent 
the Sacraments, either on account of the sole 
tender, idle, slothful relish, or to gain the rep- 
utation of sanctity ; or that they may share in 
certain singular lights and gentle pleasures ; or 
that they may veil and cover some interior vice 
by that outward appearance. Since, therefore, 
this love is so deadly, the Lord has not only for- 
bidden it, but even commanded its opposite, ha- 
tred, saying (Luke, xiv, 26) : i; If any man come 
to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and 
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, 



262 PABT FIBST. 

yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my dis- 
ciple;" and (John, xii, 25): "He that hateth 
his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal." 



§2. — Of the Acts and Excesses of Self-love. 
1. Though all sins and imperfections may 
proceed from self-love, nevertheless it is nec- 
essary to describe separately and include under 
certain heads some special acts and excesses of 
this vice, that we may the more easily make war 
on this cruel beast, and overcome and subdue it. 
But these and others of a like nature are the acts 
of self-love: 1) To think one's natural and 
supernatural gifts worthy of all esteem; to take 
self-complacence in all things, to diminish one's 
defects, to magnify one's labors and seek praise 
from all things. 2) To wish for love, fear and 
praise from men, not for God's sake, but for 
one's own, from which desire spring complaints, 
anger, and murmurs against those who do not 
love, commend and reverence. 3) To fear be- 
ing despised and made light of, and on that ac- 
count to be dejected and sad, and to dread the 
deceitful opinions of foolish men. 4) To be 
ashamed of any defects arising from nature, or 
infirmity, or weakness, such as deformity, muti- 
lation, being tongue-tied, meanness of origin, pov- 
erty of raiment. 5) To conceal vices, faults and 
imperfections, for the purpose of gaining the 
name of virtue and holiness. 6) To perform 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 263 

with great care works which men are to see, 
but to show carelessness about those which God 
alone is to behold. 7) To omit many good 
works, because harm or confusion before men is 
feared. 8) To be devoted with inordinate love 
to whatever concerns one's self, particularly to 
relatives and kinsmen, and frequently to brag of 
and extol one's self for their nobility, riches or 
mental endowments. 9) To love one's own 
works excessively, and to be so wedded to pri- 
vate prayers and other devotional exercises, as 
to neglect and omit on their account works of 
charity, mercy and obedience. 10) To cloud 
others' virtues and neighbors' gifts, lest any 
other may be preferred to one's self. 

2. But there are six classes of goods, which 
each can wish for himself through private or 
self-love. The first is life and health, by love 
of which inconveniences are avoided, and many 
works contributing to perfection are omitted. 
The second, pleasures, by shunning labors and 
whatever is disagreeable to the senses. The third, 
honors, dignities, superiority and glory; when a 
person thinks himself worthy of such things, and 
covets and solicits them, and, on the other hand, 
avoids and hates abjection. The fourth, liberty 
and license and full power over one's self and 
one's actions, from which it happens that one is 
averse to submission to the will and authority of 
any person, but wishes to do all things according 



264 PART FIRST. 

to his own whim. Fifth, power, riches and ex- 
ternal goods, which are coveted as means to ac- 
quire other goods. In the sixth place are con- 
nections by blood, affinity and friendship, for 
whom we desire and seek, just as for ourselves, 
the goods we have mentioned. If any one shall 
have perfectly renounced the love of all these, 
he is to be considered as having utterly extirpated 
self-love from himself. But we must treat singly 
of these goods and of their renunciation 



§3. — Of Regulating the Love of Life and Health. 
1, It is altogether necessary to put away from 
us excessive love of health and life, for the high- 
est perfection of virtue, to the pursuit of which 
we have devoted ourselves, demands that we be, I 
will not say not lovers of life, but like to a corpse, 
and be easily turned in whatever direction either 
necessity or charity, or the will of superiors may 
incline us. Wherefore, we ought to fight against 
this love chiefly with two weapons : The first is, 
that we never follow or do anything merely from 
eagerness for life or health. The second is, that 
we indeed take care of health, as christian and 
natural law requires, still with such moderation, 
that from love of life we suffer not our soul to 
be stained with any, even the slightest blemish, 
and that we omit no works of virtue for that 
reason. But these vices in particular are to be 
avoided: 1) to promise one's self long life and 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 265 

to acquire earthly advantages for many years ; 
2) to dread the remembrance of death; 3) to 
observe with too great superstition some special 
times, and kinds of food and medicines for pre- 
serving health; 4) to fear and shun all, even the 
slightest dangers of sickness and all toil; 5) to 
be f)f a too faint and low spirit in time of illness. 

2. This, our life, is little deserving of love, 
whereas it is frail, brief and uncertain and com- 
mon to us with the brutes; that life is rather to 
be loved, which follows from grace and virtue, 
by which we in some measure rise to the divine 
being, and are conducted to a life far better. 
God has set limits to the life of the body, " which 
cannot be passed" (Job, xiv, 5), spiritual life is 
everlasting. But if we are led by zeal for life, 
let us transfer all care to the acquisition of this 
endless life; and if we fear death, let us dread 
the worst death of sin and hell. And since we 
cannot by our own zeal prolong life beyond the 
bounds fixed by God, anxiety is to be cast on 
his most kind providence, and we must believe 
that he will grant us unimpaired life as long as 
he knows it to be expedient for his glory and our 
own and our neighbors' salvation. 

3. From what has been said may be inferred 
the method of mortifying this love, which con- 
sists in the following precepts: A man ought to 
be indifferent to life and death, to good and bad 
health. He should be always submissive to divine 



266 PABT FIB ST. 

Providence, without any anxiety of the future, 
with a mind quite ready for death, if God so 
command. Diseases are to be accepted from the 
hand of God as heavenly gifts and exercises of 
virtues. Spiritual life is to be preferred to cor- 
poral in all things. Finally, in the manner itself 
of living, care is to be taken that reason may al- 
ways rule, that all delicacies and superfluities be 
excluded, that no annoyance be avoided from love 
of life, when it is to be borne by the rule of pru- 
dence and charity. And life is to be so ordered, 
with the mind ever raised towards eternity, that 
we can truly say with the Apostle (Gal. ii, 20) : 
"And I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me." 



§4. — Of the Government of Love Towards 
Kinsmen, Friends and Country. 

1. It is the saying of Christ (Luke, xiv, 26) : 
"He who hates not his father and mother, can- 
not be my disciple." And the Holy Ghost cries 
out by the mouth of the Prophet (Ps. xliv, 11) : 
"Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy 
ear: and forget thy people, and thy father's 
house;" by which words we are taught, that we 
ought to be foreign in affection from those whom 
we have once left. For, firstly, it is unbecoming 
a Keligious of nobility of spirit, since he pro- 
fesses that he, publicly dead to the world, lives for 
Christ alone, still privately to cherish secular 
life, gladly to speak and hear of his friends, to 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAY. 267 

send and receive letters, to be anxious about their 
affairs, to be overjoyed at their prosperity, to be 
grieved at their adversity. Secondly, since God 
has conferred on us much more and greater benefits 
than any of those united to us either by blood or 
friendship, it is just that we love God and Christ 
as our parents, brethren and friends, that what 
he himself has said may be verified : ' i Whosoever 
shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven ; 
he is my brother, and sister, and mother 5 ' (Matt, 
xii, 50). Thirdly, friendships and acquaintances, 
that spring from mere natural affection and 
similarity of dispositions, wean the heart from 
pursuits of divine things, and waste its powers; 
they beget a certain over-intimacy on both sides, 
not without danger of injuring the reputation of 
others, bring various cares, jealousies and anxi- 
eties, and, lastly, are often bad example to others, 
and give them offence. 

2. But as regards the practice of governing 
this love, firstly, it is laudable to put away all 
remembrance of kindred, friends and country, 
and advantages that are derived from them; and 
all hope of any good, that can be expected from 
them, is to be given up, placing confidence in 
God alone. Secondly, intercourse with them, 
either personal or by letter, is to be abandoned, 
unless well-ordered charity demand otherwise; 
and it must be remarked, that our love towards 
our relations is in this only, that we may wish 



268 PART FIRST. 

them heavenly goods and holiness of life ; but 
that we be affected, just as if they nowhere ex- 
isted. The celebrated examples of Saints Alexius 
and John Calibyte are on record in this matter, 
and of others, too, who burned heaps of letters 
received from relatives, lest they should become 
to them a nursery of useless cares. Thirdly, 
very rarely, and never if possible, should there 
be discourse about them ; neither ought we to 
boast of their nobility, power and achievements; 
nor grieve or blush for things the reverse of 
these. But if at any time parents or others be- 
longing to us fall into misfortune and need our 
service, then the snares of the devil are to be 
chiefly guarded against, and the decision of pru- 
dent men, superiors especially, is to be followed. 
3. That love towards spiritual brethren may 
be also more sincere, human causes of talent, 
nobility, pleasing conversation are to be separated 
from it, and those only sought which consist in 
piety and holiness; care must be taken, that in- 
tercourse, conferences and all the services that 
are wont to arise from friendship, proceed from 
this love of mutual perfection. And if any 
earthly cause lead us to the intimacy of one, 
rather than of another, that affection is to be 
curbed; and, on the other hand, when we are not 
very well disposed towards some one, because he 
differs from our character and manners, love is 
to be directed towards him in particular. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 269 

§5. — Of Governing Self-love in all Created 
Goods. 

1. Since one, that does not renounce all 
things, cannot be numbered among the followers 
of Christ, reason demands, that content with the 
sole use of necessary things, we turn our affec- 
tion to imperishable goods, considering the vile- 
ness, emptiness and deformity of earthly things. 
For who is so blind as not to see, that life ever- 
lasting and blessed is to be preferred to this 
wretched and transitory existence? that its most 
perfect delights excel the gross pleasures of this 
exile? that the liberty of the children of God is 
found much more excellent than is the liberty of 
the sons of men, which can be justly called slavery ? 
What is the society of friends, what the glory, 
what the riches of this world, if they be com- 
pared with the most happy society of the Saints, 
with the dignity and wealth of our celestial coun- 
try ? Therefore, judging all these fleeting things 
as dung, let us love those goods alone, which 
Christ has purchased for us with his blood, and 
which can make us blessed. 

2. From what men do for the sake of perish- 
able goods we ought to understand what we have 
to do in order to acquire goods everlasting. For 
if the} 7 , with uncertain and deceitful hope of ob- 
taining more abundantly some good, which they 
highly prize, gladly bear the privation of these 
same goods for some time, as they who endure 



270 PABT FIRST. 

dishonor and ignominy, that they may attain to 
nobility and honor; and those who suffer many 
grievances for a long time, that they may enjoy a 
certain pleasure ; and those who make large ex- 
penditure with the hope of great gain, how much 
more ought we, resting on the surest hope, be 
prepared for sake of the most excellent and 
agreeable goods of the next life to relinquish 
both in spirit and in reality all goods whatever of 
the present life? We should, therefore, resolve 
with divine grace to root out all love towards 
transitory things, by surrendering to divine Prov- 
idence our spirit free from every affection, and 
prepared for all contingencies, that it may en- 
tirely dispose of us after its eternal good-will. 
But when there shall be an occasion of exercis- 
ing this indifference, we shall study most care- 
fully to reduce it to practice ; when, for instance, 
God either of himself or through others shall 
withdraw something pleasing from us, and shall 
command what seems grievous ; or when we shall 
be affected with some disease or trouble; and 
when anything without our fault shall have to be 
suffered from others. For we shall rejoice in 
these things, just as if we had found a great 
treasure. 

3. Finally, that self-love may be entirely 
eradicated from one's heart, the following rules 
shall be of great help, if they be exactly ob- 
served. Truly to despise self, and to confess 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 271 

sincerely that one is not a singular man endowed 
with any eminent gift, but one of many thou- 
sands inferior to countless others in knowledge 
and virtues. Not to wish to be singularly loved 
or feared by men, or to be treated with praise 
and reverence; nay, rather to wish to be de- 
spised, and to dread no confusion before men, 
and to esteem one's self most deserving of all in- 
famy. Not to hide our own defects, yea, if no 
scandal or loss can arise from it, even to reveal 
these faults, after the example of Saint Augus- 
tin, who consigned to public writings the follies 
and delinquencies of his youth. To be troubled 
with no concern to please, no anxiety about dis- 
pleasing men ; for a servant looks only to his 
master, desires to please him, fears to cause him 
annoyance; and we are the servants of God, and 
ought to have him alone in view. To make per- 
petual war on the body, to chastise the flesh, and 
restrain all the senses even from law 7 ful pleas- 
ures. To love nothing, to have nothing that 
may be contrary to poverty, and to be content 
with mere necessaries. Not to seek honors and 
dignities, and, if possible, prudently to avoid 
them when offered. To keep the heart free 
from all bitterness, and filled with heavenly 
sweetness even in cases of failure. So to under- 
take pious occupations, and to be so inclined 
towards devout exercises, that the spirit of lib- 
erty may be always present to change, interrupt 



272 PABT FIBST. 

or entirely omit them. For things undertaken 
for charity ought to obey, not govern charity. 
And pious works then govern charity, when we 
still adhere to them in contradiction of obedi- 
ence, when we are alert in practices of our own 
choosing, and are found slow and morose in those 
imposed by obedience, although they may be 
more useful and more pleasing to God. It will 
be useful, also, for gaining victory over this bane- 
ful love, if we so distrust our own powers that 
we may still rely on God most assuredly assist- 
ing us to conquer, praying to him continually 
that he may liberate us from our own, and make 
us worthy of his divine love; if by actual inten- 
tion we refer all things to God, and in all seek 
his good pleasure. For it shall thus come about, 
that loving our creator we may root out self-love 
from us, and with the aid of God's grace destroy 
a most dangerous enemy. 



Chapter XVII. — Of Mortifying the Powers 

OF THE EATIONAL SOUL. 

The rational soul has three faculties : under- 
standing, memory and will. Understanding is 
given it in order to know God ; memory, to re- 
pose in him ; will, to love him. But through sin 
reason has become blind, the will corrupt, and 
memory fickle and roving. Very often reason 
accepts false for true, the will chooses evil for 
good, memory occupies itself with things from 



OF THE PUEGATIVE WAY. 273 

which it is ever made restless. Interior denial, 
then, must be attended to, in order that the inner 
man may be renewed, w T ho has been created to 
God's image and likeness. 



§1. — Of Abnegation of the Understanding and 
Memory. 
1. Through Adam's sin the understanding 
was weakened by a twofold wound, ignorance 
and blindness, from which man errs in the notion 
of truth, and knows not what ought to be done 
or avoided. And, first, we have to state how it 
is to be governed in ascertaining truth, after- 
wards we shall treat of its application in real 
transactions. First of all, the understanding is 
to be withheld from curiosity, that is to say, we 
are not to learn useless things w 7 hich contribute 
neither to God's service, nor to our neighbors' 
profit, nor to our own state; we are not to scru- 
tinize the sayings, doings and morals of others, 
unless, perchance, the care of some may have 
been committed to us, of whose life a modest 
and sincere inquiry is allowed ; we are not willingly 
to see or hear news and rumors of wars and other 
occurrences of the world which in no w T ay eon^ 
cern us ; we are not idly to engage in subtle, 
vain and lofty speculations. We should by no 
means be so attached to probable opinions as to 
give rise to quarrels and dissensions ; for it is be- 
(18— Spir. Life.) 



274 PABT FIBST. 

fitting that we propose, defend and confirm our 
opinion in such manner, that we may not appear 
to wound or despise those holding different views, 
but always make honorable mention of them. 
And in the choice of opinions we shall reverence 
and follow the decisions of our seniors and the 
opinions of the ancient Fathers, lest, relying on 
our own wisdom alone, we glide into various 
errors, which easily happens. 

2. All that is necessary for salvation, all 
things concerning our profession, office, duty 
and state, are to be carefully learned; provided, 
however, they be learned in the proper way; 
that is, that we seek useful learning rightly, 
modestly and in due order. And we seek learn- 
ing rightly when we take pains to acquire a 
knowledge of truth for a good end, for God's 
glory, and for our own and our neighbors' salva- 
tion. Modestly, if we avoid innovations, and 
quit not the beaten path. In due order, if we 
make knowledge an instrument of virtue, not 
the end ; if we duly distribute the hours between 
study and good works ; if we are willing to be 
considered disciples before Doctors, practicing 
before teaching, as it is written (Acts i, 1): 
" Jesus began to do and to teach;" if, in fine, we 
presume not to teach others what we are ignorant 
of. We must also beware, lest knowledge puff 
us up; and, therefore, we must bear in mind that 
what we know is very trifling, and well-nigh 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 275 

nothing, if it be compared with that which we 
know not, and which other men, Angels and 
Saints know. This science — to learn one's own 
justice and to know one's self — is profitable be- 
yond all the rest. From this springs humility, 
the parent of all virtues and mistress of knowl- 
edge itself, by the study of which the holy 
Fathers made such progress in learning, and 
came to the knowledge of very many things 
above human comprehension. 

3. It is necessary to ponder diligently of how 
great moment is accurate surveillance of the 
understanding in the conception of things ; for it 
is, as it were, the entrance to the recesses of the 
soul. The senses present the likenesses of things, 
the understanding receives them and submits 
them to the judgment, this proposes them to the 
will; but the senses present good things and bad, 
it is the duty of the mind either to admit or ex- 
clude them. Therefore, with the great diligence 
either a city in dread of an approaching plague, 
or a citadel strongly besieged by enemies is 
guarded, lest any one not thoroughly known may 
gain entrance by stealth; with the same and 
much greater care watch is to be kept, lest the 
understanding open a way to any likeness, unless 
it first clearly knows it to be friendly and con- 
ducive to well-being. This, indeed, is what the 
Scripture commends so much, saying (Prov. iv, 
23) : "With all watchfulness keep thy heart, 



276 PABT FIBST. 

because life issueth out from it." But from this 
control of the understanding arises the utmost 
exactness in the memory; for as the sensitive 
memory does not differ from the phantasy, so the 
intellective differs not from the understanding; 
wherefore, if the understanding shall be engaged 
in the consideration of useful and holy things, 
the memory will preserve representations of these 
same things, and will reproduce them when need 
shall require. 

§2. — Of the Government of the Judgment in 
Real Transactions. 
1. Those acts of the understanding, by which 
we advance to exercise of actions, are counsel and 
supremacy. Counsel has two acts: inquiry and 
judgment. Inquiry is an act, by which, suppos- 
ing the intention of an end, we reason about the 
means by seeking them and examining what they 
may avail towards the end. Judgment is an act, 
by which, supposing inquiry by reason, it is 
decided what is to be done. After this fol- 
lows supremacy, intimating and commanding the 
thing's execution. Furthermore, this act called 
judgment needs much control, that it maybe able 
rightly to discern what is to be done in every 
case. For practical judgment itself is wont to be 
corrupted and perverted by pride and presump- 
tion, by which a person deems himself something 
great, and pays too much credit and deference to 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 211 

self, and is over-confident in his own wisdom; 
likewise, by excessive credulity, and inordinate 
leaning towards some one and a higher opinion 
of his authority than is proper, as if he cannot 
and will not lie. Lastly, love, hatred, concupis- 
cence and the rest of our disorders, which have 
before been treated of, blind the mind, that it 
may not pronounce true judgment on us. 

2. That we may, therefore, not err, led astray 
by the perversity of our own judgment, these rules 
are to be observed: First, we shall consider no 
doctrine true, we shall embrace no moral system, 
which wise Catholics and faithful sons of the 
Church have not at any time taught. 2) We 
shall never subject to inquiry the definitions of 
our predecessors, but shall understand them sim- 
ply, and shall retain them in practice and in 
sense, as handed down by them. 3) We shall 
examine with extreme diligence not only the sub- 
stance of a work, but all its circumstances like- 
wise, for good is from an unimpaired cause, evil 
from some defect or other. 4) We must be- 
ware, lest we be deceived by things' appearances, 
for gall often lies concealed under honey, and 
thorns under flowers. Things are to be esti- 
mated as they are, not according to our affections 
or popular errors. 5) In what appertains to life 
and morals we shall permit ourselves to be guided 
by the advice of our ghostly Father; also, we 
shall never dispose of external things without 



278 PABT FIBST. 

previous counsel, for there is safety where there 
are many counsels; confidence is to be placed 
especially in those of mature years, on account 
of their various and long experience of human 
affairs. 6) The Wiseman enjoins, not to be- 
lieve hastily, saying (Eccl. xix, 4) : "He that 
is hasty to give credit, is light of heart;" for 
since there are many and very opposite condi- 
tions, from which the quality of human actions 
depends, it is clear that we must often slip in 
judging without a certain and minute knowledge 
of them; then narrators are accustomed fre- 
quently to affirm doubtful and uncertain things 
as certain and sure. Impossibility to deceive or 
be deceived, is the privilege of God alone; there 
are few among men, who in their narratives do 
not add something to, or take from the truth, 
either from acumen and art, or from zeal and 
affection, or from a certain natural propensity; 
from which it is inferred that truth cannot be 
completely discovered from the narration of one 
or two. As long as we are agitated by any 
trouble we should abstain from judgment, for 
the mind, deceived by that paroxysm, as by cer- 
tain juggler's tricks, does not perceive what is 
true and right, but judges things such as the 
disorder represents them. Finally, haste or pre- 
cipitation is very much opposed to right judg- 
ment; therefore, all things are to be performed 
maturely and prudently and in the proper time: 



OF THE PUBGATIVE WAT. 279 

and since it is known by certain experience that 
mostly all persons, who rashly followed their 
own opinion, have fallen into grave and inextri- 
cable faults, since, too, as the Wiseman says 
(Wisd. ix, 14): "The thoughts of mortal men 
are fearful, and our counsels uncertain," . and 
the issues of things doubtful and deceitful; our 
judgment is to be crushed, and subjected to the 
judgment and mature counsel of others. 



§3. — That it Behooves to Judge No One 
Rashly. 

1. From the perversion of human nature we 
are all shrewd and clear-sighted, and very prone 
to observe and rashly interpret others' sayings 
and doings. And some, indeed, judge their 
neighbors, because, since they are naturally harsh 
and bitter of heart, all things displease them ; 
but some through pride lower others, that they 
may elevate themselves: they deem themselves 
so great, that they judge the rest of men small ; 
some that their goods, contrasted with the ills of 
others, may be more apparent: some, that they 
may be less reproached, and may themselves in 
some measure lie concealed in the multitude of 
the vicious; some, because they take delight in 
investigating the lives of others, gaining for 
themselves the reputation of wise men ; some, on 
account of anger and ill-will; some, in fine, for 
other causes. But, first of all, it is necessary to 



280 PABT FIRST. 

cut off all occasion of this vice, by not prying 
into the life of others, by not uttering or hearing 
discourse on this subject, and by shutting out 
and smothering, at the very commencement, all 
thoughts and suspicions of a neighbor's morals, 
occurring either through nature's fault or the 
devil's artifice. For, since it is the province of 
God alone to look into the free mind's recesses, 
he who judges and condemns the innermost 
counsels of others, invades God's tribunal, and 
usurps his office with the utmost sacrilege, God 
himself crying out (Jerem. xvii, 10): "I am 
the Lord that search the heart, and prove the 
reins;" and ' 'Judge not, and }^ou shall not be 
judged: condemn not, and you shall not be con- 
demned" (Luke, vi, 37). In the next place, 
what sort of business is this, to spy upon and 
reveal the vices of others ? Assuredly mean and 
most ignoble, as if one were engaged in the occu- 
pation alone of collecting everything most foul 
from the sewers and secret places of a city, and 
exposing and bringing it to light for public view. 
2. Accordingly, to pluck up this vice by the 
roots, these remedies are to be applied : We 
ought to think humbly of ourselves, highly of 
others; to regard in ourselves the evils that are 
in us and the goods that are wanting, in others 
the goods which they have more abundant than 
we. Then, curiosity is to be avoided, and things 
or affairs that do not concern us are to be en- 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY, ' 281 

tirely refrained from, and not only are judgments 
to be shunned, when there are no proofs, but 
even when there are, it is right to interpret all 
things in the better sense, and, if a crime be 
notorious, to excuse the intention, and attribute 
the evil to frailty, excitement and very strong 
temptation. Exceeding well a certain Anchorite, 
when he heard that any one had sinned, used to 
say : "Ah, me ! because he to-day, I to-morrow ; 
and he, indeed, will do penance, but I will not." 
Perhaps God has already forgiven him whom we 
condemn, but he will not spare us wicked cen- 
surers. We are infected enough ourselves, and 
if we wish sincerely to examine all the windings 
of our conscience, we shall find all things in it 
so vile and disordered, that we may not dare to 
lift our eyes to the life of others. Again, does 
not the law of charity and of nature require, 
that we think that of others which we wish them 
to think of us? And if we desire to be com- 
mended and held in repute by others, is it not 
fit that we think and speak well of them ? In 
fine, let those whose duty it is to inspect the 
doings of others, first judge themselves worse 
than they, and let them afterwards so behave, 
that all may acknowledge they were actuated by 
charity alone and zeal for amendment of sins. 

3. Another error of judgment is that of men 
rashly suspecting that others do not think or 
speak well of them, that they are odious to and 



282 PABT FIB ST. 

despised by others. To rid the mind of this 
vice, the eagerness with which we desire to 
please men, to seem perfect and excellent in their 
sight, must first be moderated by having before 
our eyes that declaration (Galat. i, 10): "If I 
yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of 
Christ." Next, we must take pains to put away 
even the very thought of knowing what others 
may think or say of us ; for it often happens, 
that those whom we fancy to blame and observe 
us most do not so much as think of us. Fi- 
nally, we must take care not to afford others just 
cause of thinking and speaking ill of us; using 
proper diligence in which matter we are to say 
with the Apostle (1 Cor. iv, 3) : "But to me it 
is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by 
man's day;" for in truth each is such as he is 
before God: the thought and talk of men make 
us neither better nor worse. 



§4. — Of Mortification of Self -will. 
1. The will is a faculty of the soul, which ex- 
ercises authority over all others ; wherefore, by 
it the power, goodness and malice of human ac- 
tions exist. Its acts are volition, intention, fru- 
ition, choice, consent and use; the three first of 
which regard the end, the three last the means. 
Volition is that act by which we desire some 
good absolutely as an end. Intention is an act 
of the will concerning an end, proposed by the 



OF THE PUB G ATI VE WAY. 283 

understanding, as to be followed up try some 
means. Fruition is pleasure from a good that is 
possessed. Choice is the selection of that means, 
which the understanding has decided to be pref- 
erable to the rest. Consent is an act of the will, 
by which it applies itself to whatever is proposed 
to it by the understanding as desirable. Use is 
the act, by which the will determines the other 
faculties to action. And because this faculty, on 
account of its innate freedom, is wont to direct 
itself after its own inclination, and to be carried 
towards everything that may be pleasing, its 
mortification consists in this, to will nothing from 
its own caprice, but always to choose and follow 
that which God wishes, subjecting itself in all 
things and through all to the divine will, and 
taking arms and rising up against itself. 

2. No one, how much soever he may strive, 
shall ever be able to acquire peace and tranquil- 
ity of mind, no one shall be able to arrive at 
christian perfection, unless he has a will closely 
and fitly united with the divine, and is entirely 
submissive to the authority of his creator. This 
is the way to virtue and heavenly glory, which 
Christ disclosed to us, through which he himself 
entered, who said (John, vi, 38) : "I came down 
from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will 
of him that sent me;" which all holy and perfect 
men have followed, saying with the Prophet (Ps. 
lxxii, 23) : "I am become as a beast before thee, 



284 PABT FIB ST. 

and I am always with thee." Let self-will cease, 
says a certain holy man, and there shall be no 
hell. For what does God punish or hate, except 
man's self-will? Even in this life all scandals, 
all sins spring from this root. But he, who has 
not a will of his own, is ever cheerful, ever at 
peace; for he wishes things to happen, as they 
happen, and thus he always obeys the divine will, 
in which he entirely merges his own. 

3. But self-will is to be renounced in all 
things, exterior and interior, temporal and spirit- 
ual, so that we may desire, say, or do nothing 
for our own sake and for gratifying our will, 
may perform nothing rashly or from custom; 
but may refer all things to God's will and his 
glory. And, indeed, if we ought to do or omit 
certain things, they may be either of precept and 
good, or forbidden and evil; the will of God is 
manifest in these, namely, that the former be 
done, the latter not done. But if they be in- 
different, either nature recoils from them, or is 
delighted by them, or is equally disposed towards 
them; and then we ought to embrace the first, 
for the most part reject the second, and as to the 
third, either side can be taken, previously mak- 
ing an act of conformity with the divine will. 
But if a thing be of great moment, recourse shall 
be had to prayer, to the advice of the pious and 
learned, and to the judgment of Superiors. 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 285 

§5. — Of Twelve Mortifications, by Which the 
Soul is Perfectly Purified, and is Prepared for 
a Happy Union With God. 

1. Although, in what has been so far written, 
w r e may have with God's help explained every 
kind of mortification, still this description . of 
twelve will not be superfluous, for it is, as it were, 
the peroration and abridgment of those things 
that appertain to man's interior amendment, and 
an easy ascent to a most happy union with God 
is prepared for the soul purified by these twelve 
abnegations. The first is mortification of all af- 
fections towards temporal things, when, for ex- 
ample, we are so free that, though some one were 
to deprive us of all temporal goods, we would, 
notwithstanding, entirely conform our will to 
that of God; and if the frailty of nature should 
wince a little in this matter, because w r e are men, 
still that w r ould not be contrary to perfect mor- 
tification, provided the will remained unshaken, 
saying with holy Job (i, 21) : "The Lord gave, 
and the Lord hath taken away : as it hath pleased 
the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of 
the Lord." Those who are so disposed, al- 
though they might possess incalculable wealth, 
treasures and kingdoms, in the sight of God, 
however, would be considered truly bare and 
poor in spirit. This is, indeed, true poverty, 
when there is nothing in things created to which 
the affection turns ; when the very necessaries of 



286 PART FIB ST. 

nature are accepted with disgust and irksome- 
ness for the maintenance and use of our mortal 
existence, without any attachment of the mind. 

2. The second is mortification of self-love, as 
well in works as in avoidance of evils. They are 
not sons, but slaves, who, seeking themselves, 
not God, act well and shun evil to avoid confu- 
sion, reproof, remorse of conscience, the penalty 
of purgatory or of hell; or that they may ac- 
quire praise, honor, the favor of devotion, spir- 
itual sweetness, visions and even eternal life. 
Wherefore, deprived of sensible devotion, they 
become disquieted, impatient and perverse, seek- 
ing consolation in creatures; because, no doubt, 
they are slaves and mercenaries, and would never 
serve God if they expected no reward from him. 
But sons and true lovers of God refer all their 
works to himself with an upright, simple and 
divinely-moulded intention, seeking not their 
own profit, but the honor, glory and will of their 
Father in all things, equally prepared for pros- 
perity and adversity, for consolations and deso- 
lations, for reward and punishment. 

3. The third is the renouncement of one's 
sensuality in food, drink and raiment, in mutual 
discourses and sensual conversation, in curiosity 
and equipment of cell, house and all utensils. 
And, indeed, it is not forbidden that each one 
use these things according to his state, condition 
^nd infirmity; but to use them from an appetite 



OF THE PVBGATIVE WAY. 287 

of sensuality is bad, from what the Apostle says 
(Rom. xiii, 14): "Make not provision for the 
flesh in its concupiscences." 

4. The fourth is perfect mortification of all 
affections of mundane, natural and acquired love. 
For all love paints the heart with various images, 
by which the mind is distracted in prayer, and 
becomes soiled and unfit for the service of God. 
But if we love God alone, we shall be stamped 
with the divine image, and shall be drawn up- 
wards to heavenly things by his love. But mun- 
dane love is that whereby w 7 e desire to please the 
world and fear to displease it. Natural love is 
that with which we treat ourselves, parents, 
brothers, sisters and other kindred. That is 
called acquired love, which is wont to arise from 
mutual and frequent intercourse, from reciprocal 
manifestation of favors and services. The two 
last kinds of love are lawful, but need careful 
direction, lest they may result in sin to us. The 
first is altogether bad, for the Psalmist says 
(lii, 6) : "They that please men have been con- 
founded, because God hath despised them." 

5 . The fifth is the casting aside of all thoughts 
and images of created things, and a certain ap- 
plication to complete solitude, not alone accord- 
ing to the body, but much more according to the 
mind, by driving from us all vain and useless 
thoughts, and good and holy ones, too, if they 
disquiet the heart ; w T hether they be of necessary 



288 PABT FIB ST. 

temporal concern, or of " spiritual solicitude, as 
in the scrupulous and faint-hearted; or be of 
things celestial and eternal, as in curious and 
subtle disquisitions of divine mysteries. 

6. The sixth consists in the rejection of any 
care and management whatever of temporal af- 
fairs, unless just necessity force us thereto, or 
on account of spiritual utility or obedience. But, 
if at the summons of reason or obedience, it 
happen that we are occupied in external works 
and duties, we shall be eager to perform what- 
ever may be required with affection and under- 
standing elevated to God, without anxietjs in- 
constancy and distraction of heart. 

7. The seventh is employed in removing all 
bitterness of heart by the sweetness of divine 
love, so that we may embrace all our opponents 
and persecutors w 7 ith the same feeling of mind, 
as if they w r ere our best friends and benefactors. 
Futhermore, bitterness of heart is wont to pro- 
ceed from a fivefold source: 1) From a high 
opinion of our own works in much penance and 
exterior exercises, which render us prone to scorn 
and judge our neighbors, so that we may say 
with the Pharisee (Luke, xviii, 11): "I am not 
as the rest of men." 2) From neglect of self- 
mortification, by reason of which we murmur 
against Prelates and Superiors, if they will not 
consent to our inordinate desires. 3) From 
envy, by interpreting and judging all things in 
the worse sense, although they may not be bad 



OF THE PURGATIVE WAY. 289 

in themselves. 4) From a desire of self-com- 
placence, because we wish to appear and to be 
thought faithful beyond others: and, therefore, 
we endeavor to lessen others' fame. 5) From 
one's own perversity and malice, which render 
the conscience acrimonious and restless. 

8. The eighth consists in complete renounce- 
ment of pride and vainglory? in contempt of 
praise, honor, favor and human recognition, by 
desiring to be despised, mocked, cast away, ig- 
nored, confounded and held of no account by all 
men. 

9. The ninth is mortification of all affections 
towards spiritual, interior and sensible delights, 
such as grace and sensible devotion, interior 
sweetness, visions, apparitions, supernatural com- 
munications, and others of the same kind. For 
he who wishes to run in the way of God's com- 
mandments with security and progress, ought 
to refer all his exercises to this end, that he may 
excite the love of God within himself, not that 
he may obtain sensible consolations and a deep 
knowledge of those things which are not neces- 
sary for him. But if he shall have received any 
favor and knowledge from God, he ought neither 
to take complacence in it, nor easily trust to it; 
but let him humbly consult those who have dis- 
cernment of spirits; and let him rest in this 
alone, that for love of God he may find himself 
ever prepared for all desolation and neglect. 

(19— Spir. Life.) 



290 PABT FIBST. 

10. The tenth removes all scruples from the 
heart with entire confidence in God. But scruples 
proceed from inordinate self-love, for whatever 
a scrupulous man does, he performs not from 
charity, but from fear of damnation ; and though 
he may try to expel this fear, it is still to no pur- 
pose, because he does not act from the love of 
God, nor confide in him. 

11. The eleventh is the total eradication of 
all disquiet and impatience of heart in every out- 
ward adversity, whether it be disgrace, ridicule, 
calumny or loss of temporal goods, of friends 
and connections, or any other persecution what- 
ever, which may befall a person by God's permis- 
sion. For God reproves and chastises those he 
loves, and exercises them by many tribulations, 
as the Angel said to Tobias (Tob. xii, 13): 
"Because thou wast acceptable to God, it was 
necessary that temptation should prove thee." 

12. In fine, the twelfth and last is mortification 
of all self-will in complete resignation to all in- 
terior abandonment to be endured for love of 
God, even though it may be necessary to continue 
during one's whole life without any interior con- 
solation. This is the most exellent work of virtue, 
this the sign of pure love; this is the only way 
that leads to true perfection, to die completely 
to self-will, and to remain until death in a joy- 
ful and tranquil spirit, with bare and essential 
love alone, without any interior sweetness. 



PART SECOND 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 



Chapter I. — General Instructions. 
Hitherto we have taught what appertains to 
putting off the old man, that is, to the state of 
beginners; now we pass to that part which re- 
gards proficients, and consists in putting on the 
new man. But he is called the new man, who is 
clothed with faith, hope and charity, with pru- 
dence, justice, and the other virtues; wherefore, 
after setting forth some general instructions, we 
shall treat of the virtues themselves. 



§1. — That a Proficient Ought to Apply Himself 
to Perfection With the Utmost Zeal. 
1. It is a most uniform teaching of the holy 
Fathers and Theologians, that a will of advanc- 
ing in the spirit of perfection, with a correspond- 
ing effort, and an exercising of the powers of 
mind and body, is necessary for a proficient; 
and that there is in this the strongest impulse 
towards every virtue. And the following are the 
causes of this fact: The first is the divine will, 
which would have all to be perfect (Levit. xi, 
46): "You shall be holy," it says, "because I 

291 



292 PART SECOND. 

am holy." (Matt, v, 48) : "Be you perfect, as 
also your heavenly Father is perfect." But we 
can by no means arrive at the imitation of divine 
holiness and at the highest perfection, except by 
great exertion and toil of mind and body; and, 
therefore, our Lord exhorts us to strive "to enter 
by the narrow gate" (Matt, vii, 13) ; and he as- 
serts that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence 
and is seized by the violent alone. The second 
cause is the nature of divine grace; for grace 
does for the souls of men what the light of the 
sun does for the earth, that is, gives them heat, 
productiveness and light, dispelling the darkness 
of sins, and turning the barrenness of past life 
into abundance of new life and good works. 
Accordingly, this divine light has its stages: it 
shines like the morning dawn in beginners, it is 
resplendent with greater light in proficients, and 
reaches the noon of perfect day in the perfect. 
It never ceases emitting rays, until it illumines 
the whole world, that is, until the entire soul, 
steeped in supernal light, brightly glows and 
reaches the highest elevation of the most ardent 
charity. 

2. The third reason why a proficient ought to 
be always desirous of progressing, is the very na- 
ture of progress and desire. For though he may 
have a nature adapted for every good, though he 
may be incited to things by divine grace, still, 
his will is never forced to act. Wherefore, the 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 293 

Apostle gives warning (Heb. xii, 15): "Lest any 
man be wanting to the grace of God;" for it is 
necessary to co-operate with divine grace by an 
ardent desire of advancing, nor ever to think one 
has so far advanced ae to imagine he must not 
still make greater progress, because not to wish 
to advance, is to fall back. But such is the na- 
ture of human desire, if it be true desire, that it 
is always on fire, and never rests until it obtain 
what it desires. Thus, if a proficient desires per- 
fection, he will never be at rest, till he enjoy it 
in everlasting felicity; and the more he proceeds 
and feels greater sweetness of spirit, so much 
the more is he inflamed with the fire of divine 
love. Further, these two warnings will be of 
great support to this zeal of always making 
greater progress. One is, that the proficient be 
persuaded, for certain, that he is daily commenc- 
ing, and that he say every hour with the Prophet 
(Ps. lxxvi, 11): "And I said: now have I be- 
gun." The other, that he be not downcast, if 
he know himself not to have yet advanced as 
much as he wishes, because a continual endeavor 
after perfection is deemed perfection ; and this 
is true justice of the perfect, never to think they 
are perfect. 

§2. — What the Actions of a Proficient Ought to be. 

1. Spiritual and religious life should beloved 

and embraced with the utmost endeavors, if for 



294 PABT SECOND. 

no other reason, at least for this, that it is noth- 
ing else than a certain series of good works and 
a chain of virtues. For conforming to its ad- 
monitions, and living from morning until evening 
and from evening until morning according to the 
order prescribed for us, we are employed in holy 
works of virtue, and are hastening with rapid 
speed to our celestial country. In this consists 
the entire reason of our progress and perfection, 
that those things, which are daily performed, be 
worthily and perfectly done, each in its own 
place and time. For the Scripture says (Deut. 
xvi, 20): "Thou shalt follow justly after that 
which is just." And (Apoc. xxii, 12): "Behold 
I come quickly ... to render to every man 
according to his works." And (Gal. vi, 8): 
"What things a man shall sow, those also shall 
he reap." But our works are, as it were, certain 
seeds of eternity. Other Scripture, too, bears on 
this point, saying (Deut. xxx, 11, 12, 14) : "This 
commandment that I command thee this day, is 
not above thee, nor far off from thee, nor is it in 
heaven that thou shouldst say : Which of us can 
go up to heaven to bring it to us, and we may 
hear and fulfil it in work? . . . But the word is 
very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy 
heart, that thou mayst do it." Our progress 
then does not consist in the multiplication of ex- 
traneous and sublime works, nor in the multitude 
of pious exercises, but in doing well, perfectly 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 295 

and after virtue's patterns those we daily per- 
form. They are entirely mistaken, who, that 
their progress may increase, to their usual pray- 
ers and bodily penances repeatedly add others, 
and who formerly fasting twice a week now re- 
solve to fast three or four times, that they may 
the more advance, it is true; when they ought 
rather aim at this, to fast twice indeed, as be- 
fore, and perform the customary task of prayers ; 
but with greater fervor, piety, spirit and per- 
fection. 

2. And in order that all the actions of a pro- 
ficient may be rightly performed, that all our 
works may be found perfect before the Lord our 
God, these directions shall be of use: 1) All 
things are to be done with an upright and simple 
intention for God's sake, every other being ex- 
cluded. 2) We are to take care, above all, that 
we be engaged in exterior affairs in such manner, 
that the spirit of interior devotion may not be 
extinguished. 3) All things are to be performed 
in the presence and sight of God ; for a great obli- 
gation of uprightness is imposed on us, when we 
act before the eyes of a judge, who sees all 
things. 4) When something is to be done, we 
are to apply ourselves mentally and corporally to 
the work alone which we have in hands, disre- 
garding any, even the slightest, thought or con- 
cern about every other; for all things have their 
time, and enough for the day is the evil thereof. 



296 PABT SECOND. 

5) The last day ought to be ever present before 
our eyes, and each work is to be performed, just 
as if that were to be the last, and we were im- 
mediately to die. 

3. Finally, we ought to offer ourselves and 
all our works to God, which offering, to be more 
perfect and more acceptable to him, is to be 
united with that oblation, by which Christ our 
Lord offered himself and all mankind to God 
the Father, while he was living with us on earth. 
We shall join our prayers with his prayers, our 
fasts with his fasts, our sufferings with his pas- 
sion, and all our performances, without excep- 
tion, with his works; considering that all these 
have been already offered to God the Father by 
Christ himself together with his own works, and 
thus with his oblation we shall enclose ours also, 
making one of both. For he is the door and the 
way by which we come to the Father, nor shall 
we be able to see the face of our sovereign Lord, 
unless we shall have brought with us this our 
youngest brother, "made a little lower than the 
Angels" (Heb. ii, 9). 



§3. — Of Right Intention. 
1. Intention is an act of the will eliciting, and 
freely commanding and moving, directed by rea- 
son to an end. But that is called right inten- 
tion which constitutes God the end of its work, 
and refers all things to his honor and glory. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 297 

This is threefold: that of slaves, that of merce- 
naries and that of sons. The first is theirs who 
keep the commandments from servile fear, lest 
they be punished for eternity. Persons in this 
lowest degree can excite themselves to acting 
well by the words of our Lord, who says (Matt, 
x, 28): "Fear ye not them that kill the body, 
and are not able to kill the soul : but rather f ear 
him that can destroy both soul and body into 
hell." For if for the body's safety we abstain 
from many things that would be agreeable to us, 
how much more are those evils to be avoided 
which kill the soul and consign it to everlasting 
punishments ? The second intention regards hire- 
lings, who do good through hope of reward. 
These with the Prophet (Ps. cxviii, 112) are 
inclined to do the Lord's justifications for the 
reward, which is God himself, the immeasurable 
and infinite good, as it is written (Gen. xv, 1): 
"I am thy protector and thy reward exceeding 
great." The third is that of sons who serve 
God, not to escape punishment, not to receive a 
reward, but to please God, whom they love with 
true charity, and whom on that account they fear 
to displease. This intention is threefold: right, 
simple and godly. It is called right when with an 
upright end we direct to God all our thoughts, 
all our words and works, not only such as are 
good, but even indifferent, in order to please him. 
The simple is that by which a person does all 



298 PABT SECOND. 

things, not only that he may please God and 
honor him, but that by what he does he may dis- 
pose himself for intimate union with him. That 
is called godly which leaves nothing selfish blended 
in the will, casting aside all human affection 
and wholly transfusing the will itself into God. 
Right intention appertains to the active life, sim- 
ple to the contemplative, godly to the blessed in 
heaven; this last, indeed, can be commenced in 
this life, but shall then be perfected when God 
shall be all in all. 

2. Good intention is as requisite to a person 
desiring to live a pious life, as respiration is to 
one wishing to live a natural life. For as a trav- 
eler about to go to Koine day and night thinks 
of Rome, dreams of Rome, talks of Rome, directs 
and disposes all things for his Roman journey, 
because Rome is the goal of his travel; so we, 
who are hastening to God, ought continually to 
think and speak of God, and arrange all things 
for this end. Even the most arduous and excel- 
lent works are of no merit, unless a good inten- 
tion be present in the commencement, during 
their course and at the end. Vain is all labor, 
which a good intention does not enhance. A 
work without a good intention is what the body 
is without life. What profits it to beget an off- 
spring of good works, and to murder it through 
perversion of intention? Therefore, all things 
are to be directed to God, if we wish to merit an 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 299 

increase of grace and glory by each and every 
act. He, who errs in intention, errs in all, for 
"If thy eye be evil: thy whole body shall be 
darksome" (Matt, vi, 23). But in many things 
the intention alone is visited with reward or pun- 
ishment, because when the power of acting is 
wanting, the will, which is reckoned for the deed, 
receives the reward. 

3. Some principles touching the practice of 
pure intention can be gathered from what has 
been said. All indifferent works, which of them- 
selves are neither good nor bad, such as eating, 
drinking, walking, by the accession of a right 
intention become meritorious of eternal life. A 
bad intention vitiates any action, even the most 
excellent, so that it is of no value whatever; but 
united with a bad action it makes the thing worse 
and more culpable. A man of upright intention 
never errs, since (Kom. viii, 28) : "To them that 
love God, all things work together unto good." 
And (Prov. xii, 21): "Whatsoever shall befal 
the just man, it shall not make him sad." There 
is nothing more profitable, nothing more easy, 
than a right intention, for the matter is in our 
own power; it is enough to will, and all things 
are accomplished. Self-love spoils good inten- 
tion very much, when one does anything, because 
it is advantageous and good for himself, because 
it is agreeable and delightful to him; and, there- 
fore, the intention is so much purer, the less one 



300 PART SECOND. 

seeks himself. Many actions, which of them- 
selves are judged of little consequence, still are 
reckoned of the highest value by God on account 
of right intention, as the poor widow has shown, 
who cast more than all into the treasury. By 
right intention we can observe that precept 
(Luke, xviii, 1) : "That we ought always to pray 
and not to faint;" performing the following act 
before sleep: O my Lord, I desire, that each 
and every breath I draw while asleep may praise 
thee, as if I were always to say: Blessed be God. 
The same is to be done before meals. In fine, it 
is an act of the highest rashness and extreme 
boldness to judge or condemn any man of guilt 
that is not clear, since the intention, by which 
we are all either absolved or condemned, is known 
to God alone. 

§4. — Of the Signs of a Bight Intention. 

L. These are the signs of a right intention : 
Not to be easily disturbed, not to undertake bus- 
iness under agitation or confusion, but even in 
the most perplexing affairs to persevere in this 
mind: God has given me these things to care 
for, no doubt he will also give grace to accom- 
plish them; I toil for God and his honor, I will 
do what is in my power, the good God will pro- 
vide the rest. In every thing to be so disposed, 
that if one were questioned, for what end is this? 
He may at once reply: for God's greater glory ; 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 301 

as a traveler, asked whither he is going, replies 
without hesitation, to Rome or to some other 
city, and if he understand that he has in the 
slightest departed from his wa} r , he returns as 
quickly as possible to the path from which he 
had wandered. Not to be worried over affairs to 
be transacted, nor carried away after cares which 
divert us from prayer, from attention to con- 
science, from the remembrance of God ; for what 
we undertake for God's honor ought not to mil- 
itate against God. When a work is done, not to 
be uneasy about the judgment of others, but to 
say with the Apostle (2 Tim. i, 12): "I know 
whom I have believed, and I am certain that he 
is able to keep that which I have committed unto 
him against that day." Not to be troubled or 
shocked at the unsuccessful issue of an affair or 
of labor, since God, to whom the intention is to 
be directed, does not so much regard what is done, 
as how and with what view. To fly vainglory' 
and all vanity of thoughts on the completion of 
business, not to laud one's self in private, to 
serve God, not glory, and to sing that of the 
Prophet (Ps. cxiii, 1) : "Not to us, O Lord, not to 
us, but to thy name give glory." 

2. To be affected by no envy whatever. He 
who is zealous for the divine honor only never 
envies, yea, rejoices that in arts, sciences and 
virtues he has equals and superiors, by whose in- 
dustry and labor God may be more glorified. To 



302 PABT SECOND. 

be able to despise the judgments of men, for a 
man of right intention knows very well that men 
are often mistaken in their judgments, and is 
aware that he is such as he is in the sight of 
God, who shall judge all with just judgment. 
Not to seek one's self, but God, and so to be very 
moderate and abstemious in all things that flat- 
ter the flesh. To do a thing with equal pleasure 
privately and publicly, to labor with the same 
diligence without a witness, as if the eyes of all 
were to behold one working; to wish for no spec- 
tator, hearer or applauder; for it satisfies pure 
intention to please God alone. Not to be de- 
jected at reproaches, nor deterred from things 
well undertaken by vain regards for others ; to 
have in view one's self alone in the world and 
God. With regard to the whole course of life 
to be prepared for and indifferent to either alter- 
native — so that, as it may please the divine will, 
adversity and prosperity, wealth and indigence, 
honor and contempt, health and sickness, a long 
life and a short one may have no distinction with 
us. We seek God; what matters it that we 
reach him by this way or by that? and oh, that 
we may be able to reach him ! 



§5. — Of Bodily and Interior Solitude. 
1. It is a strong proof of a mind regulated 
and purified from evil affections, to be able to 
remain by one's self, to pass the time with one's 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAT. 303 

self, to hate the crowd, to withdraw from the 
people and begin the progress of one's soul by 
detestation of this world. Broad is the way 
which leads to death, and "the whole world is 
seated in wickedness." All things are full of 
dangers, are full of snares. The world smiles, 
that it may rage ; it soothes, that it may deceive ; 
it allures, that it may slay; it raises up, that it 
may cast down. Desires and gains goad forward, 
allurements beset, losses deter, pride puffs up, 
ambition stimulates, rapacity makes restless ; the 
tongues of gainsayers are bitter, the lips of ap- 
provers treacherous ; on that side hatred furiously 
rages, on this lying service deceives; shall any 
one be able among so many infections of a cor- 
rupt populace to keep the safe path? Inter- 
course of many is hostile to virtue. There is no 
one that does not commend to us some vice, or 
imprint it on us, or smear us unaware with it. 
We can be lost by a single example of covetous- 
ness or lust. Human concerns do not fare so 
well, that the majority pursue the better things ; 
the crowd is a proof of the worst side. Let us, 
therefore, retire within ourselves as much as we 
can. The Prophet David has taught us to walk 
in our own heart, as in a spacious house, and 
hold converse with it, saying (Ps. xxxviii, 2): 
"I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin 
not with my tongue." There the solitary shall 
not be alone, because he will be always with God. 



304 PART SECOND. 

He who has not previously attached his body 
with perseverance to some place, cannot with 
fidelity fix his mind on one thing. "I will lead 
her into the wilderness: and I will speak to her 
heart," says the Lord (Osee, ii, 14). As God, 
happy of himself alone, always abides in himself, 
so we ought to remain with ourselves, to converse 
with ourselves not requiring the company of 
others. Little children when alone build up and 
throw down small houses, sow small gardens, 
count pebbles, nor is occupation ever wanting to 
them; and shall we less wise than children 
lament when left alone? and verily if we wish, 
we shall never be lonely, if we are never sep- 
arated from Christ. It was said to the great 
Arsenius by a voice from heaven : "If you wish 
to be saved, fly, be silent, be at rest;" for these 
are the beginnings of salvation. 

2. Besides bodily, interior solitude is like- 
wise necessary, namely, that we be free within 
from every creature, excluding their impertinent 
images from our heart, casting aside all budding 
affections, all anxieties about perishable things, 
all follies of thought, and in the secret recess of 
the heart occupied with God alone. For true re- 
pose, true tranquility depends on this silence of 
the mind, on this oblivion of all things and 
nakedness of heart. This is the one thing that 
alone is necessary, this "the kingdom of God, 
that is within us," in which God pleaseth him- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 305 

self, who is wont to be found by the soul where 
all creatures are abandoned. This is the "peace 
which surpasseth all understanding," when a 
faithful soul enjoys God in silence, and possess- 
ing him alone delights in abundance of peace, 
in the tents of confidence, in rich repose, singing 
with the Prophet (Ps. iv, 9) : "In peace in the 
selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest." The 
mind of this solitary is like the situation of this 
world with regard to the moon. There it is al- 
ways serene. Wherever he may stay, he is al- 
ways free; he does not surrender, but lends 
himself to affairs; he forces his mind to be at- 
tentive to itself, nor does he suffer it to be called 
away to external objects, even though all things 
without may resound, all things be at variance. 
He alwavs stands out fearless over all contin- 
gencies; he surveys all things impartially, like 
the sun ; remaining unmoved he views the changes 
and alterations of all creatures ; he allows no limits 
to be set to himself, except those common with 
God; all ages serve him, all time is scanned b}' 
him; he embraces all things in thought; and 
living, as it were, in public he has greater dread 
of himself than of others. What more glorious 
than this man who, by contempt of all things, 
is above them all, and has the whole world under 
his feet? What more sweet, what more calm 
th^a not to be disturbed by violent motions, not 
(20— Spir. Life.) 



306 PABT SECOND. 

to be moved by the allurements of anything, by 
the sight of anything? What more resembling 
the divine repose than not to be subject to any 
one's power, not to be struck by any commotion 
and to exercise complete control over one's self? 
A proficient, to attain to this state, ought to be 
adorned with all virtues, which must therefore 
be treated of. 

Chapter II. — Of Zeal of Acquiring Virtues. 
I begin the treatise of the theological and 
moral virtues; for all the care and industry 
of a proficient ought to be used in their acquisi- 
tion and exercise. Now, virtue is a choice gift 
of God, an eminent perfection of man, a most 
beautiful ornament of the soul, the only refresh- 
ment of the mind, full of every pleasure, abound- 
ing in all delights. Wherefore, it is necessary to 
exert ourselves about it with the utmost zeal, if we 
desire to reach the wished-f or height of perfec- 
tion. 

§1. — Wliat and How Manifold Virtue Is. 

1. Virtue is a habit productive of good, which 
renders its possessor good, and makes his work 
good ; it is a good quality of mind, by which life 
is rightly spent, which no one uses ill; it is a 
supplement to nature, of itself incapable of su- 
pernatural good ; it is a facility of good work, by 
which we live well and holily, by which we resist 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 307 

true evils, that is, sins, by which we are laden 
with merits, by which we earn eternal life, by 
which we are made followers of God and of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some of the virtues are 
infused, others acquired ; some are theological, oth- 
ers moral. Those are infused, which God works in 
us without us, that is, which are not acquired by 
our acts, but are kindly infused into us by the 
Lord. Those are acquired, which are begotten 
of studious acts elicited by us. Those are called 
theological, which primarily and of themselves 
regard God; moral, which are concerned with 
some created object, pertinent to leading an up- 
right life. The theological virtues are three: 
faith, hope, charity; the moral are very numer- 
ous, all which, however, are referred to four 
the most celebrated, which, because they are 
the heads, and as it were the hinges of the rest, 
are called cardinal, and are prudence, justice, 
fortitude and temperance. And these, indeed, 
can be acquired by our acts, nevertheless so 
great is God's kindness, that when he adopts us 
as sons, he infuses into us not only the theolog- 
ical virtues, but all the moral too. For it is writ- 
ten, that God gives continence; and he teaches 
sobriety and prudence and justice and virtue in 
general; but he teaches by inspiring and infus- 
ing. 

2. But these virtues are all connected and 
linked with each other. For the prudence which 



308 PABT SECOND. 

is not just, temperate and enduring, is not true; 
and the same is to be said of the rest. On which 
account neither is one infused without the others, 
but all at the same time together; nor ought 
there be any virtue, which a spiritual man may 
not take pains to acquire. For although in an 
imperfect state one virtue may subsist without 
another, as faith without charity, liberality with- 
out continence; such virtues are, nevertheless, 
very imperfect, and well-nigh undeserving the 
the name of virtue, whose office is to make man 
the best possible. No virtue is, therefore, to be 
neglected, for they both afford one another mu- 
tual aid, and some add perfection to others. 
From these it is inferred, first, that virtue, which 
is so great a good of mankind, of itself is to be 
striven for above all; again, that the same, be- 
cause it is a most precious gift of God, is to be 
begged of him by most earnest prayers; lastly, 
that the most sincere thanks are to be offered to 
God, if at any time we have reason to suppose 
that we have been enriched by him with so great 
a good. 

§2. — Of the Degrees of Virtues. 
1. Virtue taken generally is comprised in four 
degrees. The first is, when a virtue is exer- 
cised on account of the beauty and decorum of 
virtue itself; and in this degree are contained all 
the acquired moral virtues, for which the ancient 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 309 

philosophers labored. The second is, when we 
perform good on account of God, our end super- 
naturally known; and in that degree are all the 
infused moral virtues, which tend to a more ex- 
cellent end, and are peculiar to the faithful and 
the just, on whom supernatural light has shone. 
The third is that, in which we practice virtue, 
not alone for God's sake, but even w 7 ith refer- 
ence to God, to whom we attain by acts of virtue ; 
and to this degree belong the theological vir- 
tues, by which we believe and hope in God and 
supernatural goods, and love God himself, and 
our neighbor for God's sake. The fourth is, 
when w T e perform functions of virtue not only 
for God's sake, but do so in some manner di- 
vinely ; for then God moves the soul not alone 
by the infused theological and moral virtues, but 
also by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are 
most excellent supernatural habits, and always 
accompany charity. And these are the degrees 
by which we advance from one virtue to another. 
2. But there are other degrees, which are 
found in one and the same virtue, and can be 

4 

classified from a twofold point of view. First, 
from perfection's growth, which can admit good 
acts, and thus there are three degrees in every 
virtue. 1) When in any manner we perform 
actions of virtue in time of tranquility. 2) 
When hampered by temptations and grievances 
we endure them, and, courageously resisting, per- 



310 PABT SECOND. 

severe in the course of virtue. 3) When in time 
of temptation and toil we exercise actions of 
virtue, not only with perseverance, but also with 
delight. Secondly, from the different stages of 
spiritual life, and thus, too, there are three de- 
grees of every virtue. The first is the com- 
mencement of virtue, which is found in begin- 
ners, and in this degree virtue operates with 
difficulty, and is sometimes overcome by con- 
traries, and is engaged with external, rather than 
internal acts. The second is the progress of 
virtue in proficients, in which degree virtue ad- 
vances with greater ease, resists with greater 
force and is lifted up from exterior to interior 
things. The third is the perfection of virtue 
appertaining to the perfect ; and in that degree 
virtue is practiced without any difficulty and with 
the utmost tranquility. 



§3. — Of Some General Measures and Directions 
Necessary to Acquire Virtues. 
1. All virtues are begotten by human acts, 
which can be said not only of the acquired, but 
also in some manner of the infused; for though 
these latter are mercifully given by the Lord, 
still by repeated acts we merit an increase of 
them, and the reward of eternal life. The first 
measure, then, or the first direction necessary 
generally for the acquisition or increase of any 
virtue, is an exact, complete knowledge of the 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 311 

virtue itself, that is, of its nature, of its acts and 
properties, all which shall be explained later of 
individual virtues. But it is requisite to esteem 
highly above all created goods known virtue on 
account of its innumerable excellencies, "for she 
is an infinite treasure . . . ; which they that 
use, become the friends of God" (Wisd. vii, 14). 
Then a great desire of the virtue we wish for is 
to be excited, which may make us capable of 
virtue, and render us prompt in overcoming diffi- 
culties: "He thatthirsteth, let him come to me," 
says the Lord, by which words he invites those 
only who thirst, for if any person be without a 
good desire, he shall never attain to virtue. 
Again, because christian virtue is the work of 
divine grace, not the offspring of corrupt nature, 
confidence is to be placed in God alone, who in- 
structs our hands for battle; nor are we to pre- 
sume on our own powers, which without divine 
aid can in no way reach virtue placed aloft. 
Wherefore, the gift of practicing virtue is to be 
sought by continual and fervent prayer from God 
himself, from whom all our sufficiency is derived. 
2. In actions of virtue it is necessary to re- 
gard not our glory or benefit, but the proper and 
genuine end of virtue, which is the love of God, and 
the desire of accomplishing his will with a mind 
so fixed upon him, that at no time whatever, by 
occasion of no danger and annoyance, of no 
emolument, we may depart from the path of 



312 PART SECOND. 

virtue. A good will is, likewise, to bo brought 
to the cultivation of virtue, for God, vao needs 
not our goods, chiefly regards this; and this 
even remains and merits reward, although some- 
times for a just cause we may have to interrupt 
the exercise itself of virtue. The intellect too 
is to be purged of bad, idle and unprofitable 
thoughts, and imbued with good, which medita- 
tion of divine things, sacred reading, frequent 
aspirations, examination of conscience and the 
practice itself of thinking well shall abundantly 
afford it. Nor is any occasion of practicing 
virtue, that may present itself to us, to be neg- 
lected, whether in prosperity or in adversity ; nay, 
that occasion is to be sought in all things, because 
"To them that love God, all things work together 
unto good" (Rom. viii, 28). But because action 
is necessary to virtue, and all commendation con- 
sists in its action, the action of virtue ought to 
be performed with fervor, that it may daily in- 
crease the more, like that fire which our Lord 
sent upon earth and ardently wished to be en- 
kindled. 

3. We ought to cultivate those virtues in par- 
ticular for which we are better adapted either 
by nature or by grace; for God either implanted 
that promptitude in nature, or gratuitously be- 
stowed it for this purpose, as is fit to believe, 
that we may excel in these very virtues. We 
should prefer, also, the practice of those virtues, 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 3 13 

the use of which is more frequent, of which sort 
are patience, temperance, humility, and those 
that are the more suited to our state, on which 
account a Eeligious ought to prefer obedience to 
abstinence, prayer and other virtues, in the use 
of which he feels greater delight. But one virtue 
is to be selected, to which we may specially apply 
ourselves, on which a particular examination is 
to be made twice daily. Raptures, ecstasies, 
visions, revelations and sensible consolations are 
not virtues, but rewards of virtues; therefore, 
they ought not to be longed for, but we should 
keep to the safer way praising God, who grants 
these to others. Finally, excessive reflection of 
mind is to be guarded against, lest a door be 
opened to the temptation of scruples, or indis- 
position of the head be incurred, that may com- 
pel us to cease altogether from this pursuit. And 
for the same reasons actuation, as it is called, 
ought to be avoided, that we may not so repeat 
interior acts of virtue, as, with thoughts of the 
mind and affections of the will following close 
on each other, to be continually in a sort of per- 
petual and uninterrupted action, for this is the 
privilege of heaven, rather than of this life, in 
which "the creature was made subject to vanity, 
not willingly" (Rom. viii, 20); we are obliged 
to interrupt that continuance by the necessity of 
food and sleep at least, if not by other occupa- 
tions. Wherefore, the path of virtue is to be 



314 PABT SECOND. 

trodden with great prudence, and those tw6 
maxims of the wise are ever to be kept before 
the mind's eye : "To shun extremes, and do what 
you do." 

§4. — Of the Divine Grace, Through Which 
Virtues are Acquired. 
1. The grace of virtues is a gift beyond the 
powers of nature, freely granted to men by God, 
in which all christian and religious virtues are 
contained as in their seed, the peculiar power of 
which is to infuse light into our mind, to add 
strength to our will, and other faculties and mem- 
bers for loving and practicing virtues, and for 
overcoming all difficulties that occur in their pur- 
suit. And this grace is to be exceedingly de- 
sired and besought from God, inasmuch as with- 
out it we can do nothing, and we ought to ascribe 
to it as the first source all our virtues and their 
endeavors and merits. Even that very small 
share, which in the practice of virtues is from 
us, is ours in such a way as to be also at the 
same time a gift of God; on which account we 
are obliged to acknowledge our meanness, and to 
submit ourselves entirely to divine grace, relying 
thereon. And, indeed, the most benign God is 
ever prepared to grant it, and desires much more 
eagerly to give than we to accept it; Christ 
our Lord purchased the same for men with his 
precious blood ; the holy Eoman Catholic Church, 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 315 

both triumphant and militant, also strives to ob- 
tain it for us by assiduous prayers. From which 
reasons we ought to conceive both good hope of 
procuring it, and great courage to use it man- 
fully. 

2. But God wishes our industry to be added 
to his grace, that he may reward actions of vir- 
tues, in which is found something very trifling of 
ours, as if they were entirely our own, and thus 
crown his gifts in us. But we ought so to rely 
on heavenly grace as if the whole thing depended 
on it; so, likewise, to apply ourselves to work, 
as if the whole thing were to be effected by our 
labor. Now, for the acquisition of true and solid 
virtues with the aid of divine grace, these things 
are necessary : The teaching and direction of a 
spiritual father, meditation of Christ's life and 
passion, the examples and imitation of the holy 
Fathers, who have more excelled in that virtue 
which we wish to practice. Next, difficulties are 
to be surmounted with great courage, and a mid- 
dle way is to be kept in all things, for virtue con- 
sists in a middle course. Lastly, because habits 
of virtues are acquired from repetition of acts, 
it isof great import to engage in them separately 
one by one, each for the space of some days, of 
which we may elicit acts repeatedly in our daily 
functions, always looking to Christ our Lord as 
to our model. 



316 PABT SECOND. 

§5. — Of Perseverance in the Pursuit of 
Virtues. 

1. There are many things which divert the 
human heart from the service of virtue: The in- 
stability of the heart itself, the necessity of the 
body, the difficulty of virtue and contrary cus- 
tom. First, therefore, human instability is to 
be combated, and the mind firmly fixed in good, 
lest by its levity it recede from its good purpose. 
Then the obstacles resulting from bodily neces- 
sity are to be opposed, that, if they urge the 
mind to think of other things, still they may 
never turn it away from virtue. The difficulties 
themselves which are attached to works of vir- 
tue are also to be surmounted; and, lastly, vicious 
custom is to be manfully resisted, since the crown 
of victory has been promised to those who con- 
quer and persevere. The chief cause of little ad- 
vancement in the pursuit of virtues is not want of 
thought and desire, for virtue, by its beauty, al- 
lures all to its love, but most of us are affrighted 
at the painfulness of the journey, because virtue 
is placed on an eminence, and its path is sown all 
over with thorns and thistles. Great constancy 
is, therefore, necessary in the pursuit of virtues; 
for "he that shall persevere unto the end, he 
shall be saved" (Matt, x, 22). 

2. The most successful way of acquiring and 
preserving virtue is its continual use and exer- 
cise ; for virtue is that talent of the Gospel which 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 317 

God by no means permits to be left idle. Where- 
fore, the greatest vigilance is to be used that the 
duties of virtues may be discharged, since in this 
career he recedes who does not advance. Vir- 
tues have been given to men for the purpose of 
action, and if they exist, they are idle without 
action; if they have no being, they are not be- 
gotten without action. But virtues acquired by 
human industry very easily vanish for this reason 
alone, that their duties are not practiced, which 
is called cessation from action by divines. Nor 
are there wanting authors who assert that those 
acquired virtues, the contrary acts to which are 
only venial sins, are destroyed by these same 
venial sins continually repeated, as the habit of 
abstinence by venial intemperance, if it be fre- 
quent ; which same is to be said of vainglory and 
anger against modesty and meekness. Hence is 
inferred what high value is to be set on perse- 
verance in the pursuit of virtue, that it may in- 
crease daily, and take deeper root in the soul. 

3. But because we are sometimes deceived by 
the semblance of right, and false virtues often 
thrust themselves forward for true, it will be very 
useful to distinguish between them, which shall be 
done chiefly by these signs. First sign: That is 
the action of true virtue, by which man conforms 
to the will, examples, sayings and deeds of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, which he has proposed to us 
for imitation ; and because charity and humility 



p§#»»~ 



318 PABT SECOND. 

were in the highest degree the peculiar virtues 
of Christ, that shall surely be true virtue which, 
savoring of charity and humility, will incline us 
to lay down our life for our brethren, and to the 
most profound contempt of human things. The 
second sign is the imitation of holy men in the 
same virtues, so that we may approve nothing 
that is not in keeping with their principles and 
morals. The third sign is prudence or discretion, 
the mother of virtues, without which no virtue 
can subsist. Fourth, the association and union 
of other virtues; for neither can any virtue be 
true, if it be not combined with other virtues. 



§ 6. — Of the General Marks of Virtue Acquired. 
1. There are several marks of virtue begotten 
in the soul and acquired. The first is, if we feel 
the vices opposed to a virtue to be extinct, or 
overcome, or in a great measure repressed. Thus 
it will be a sign of humility, if love of our own 
excellence does not reign in us ; a sign of obedi- 
ence, if self-will be not rebellious and refractory 
in arduous and trying circumstances. For as 
cold in the hand is driven away only by its op- 
posite iieat, so vice in the soul is expelled by the 
contrary virtue. The second sign is, when one 
sees a bridle under the control of reason put on 
his passions and affections; for as virtue is the 
governess of the affections, the perfection of ac- 
quired virtues shall be greater or less, according 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 319 

to the greater or less restraint imposed on them. 
The third is a facility and pleasure in doing right 
aud in performing acts of virtues; for, to give 
an example, undoubtedly he is considered to 
possess the virtue of humility, who without any 
difficulty lowers and secretes himself, and thinks 
meanly of himself; as he who plays the harp or 
other instrument with very great facility, is per- 
fectly skilled in music. The fourth is a strong 
and continual desire of increasing virtue. The 
fifth is the conformity of our life to that of our 
Lord Jesus Christ and to the patterns of the 
saints. For Christ has been given us by the Fa- 
ther as the teacher of all virtues; and the saints, 
who follow him closely, are imitators of Christ. 

2. It is also an indication of great progress, 
when the path of virtue no longer seems arduous 
and difficult, but even and free from obstacles; 
for many difficulties arise at the commencement, 
which are overcome by practice. Again, he who 
abounds in greater charity, shall perceive in him- 
self greater progress, a greater increase in other 
virtues too ; for the other virtues increase with 
the growth of charity, which is the perfection 
of the rest. But as the sign of incipient love 
is remorse and sorrow, which are felt when 
that which is loved is violently snatched away; 
so it is a mark of true love for virtue and a sign 
of its acquisition, to be affected and inflamed with 
grief, when the pursuit of that virtue is some- 



320 PABT SECOND. 

times interrupted, or when, from human frailty, 
we fall into an act contrary to it. Finally, if one 
be conscious to himself of fighting day and night 
against vices; if he allow no unnecessary remis- 
sions; if he deem as nothing the gibes and cen- 
sures of others; if he despise the sayings of 
the lukewarm ; if he hear that his equals flourish 
in riches and honors, and envy not nor be troubled ; 
if he be zealous and derive benefit from all things ; 
if he hold his actions ready, not for display, but 
for utility ; if he seek not vainglory from good 
works; if satisfied with the testimony of his con- 
science he keep and conceal good works in him- 
self ; if he candidly confess his errors, desiring 
to be corrected and reproved by all. He no 
doubt will declare* that he has acquired no ordi- 
nary virtue, and will show that reason turned upon 
itself is taking root inwardly. 



§7. — Of the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy 
Ghost, and of the Beatitudes. 

1. Besides the theological and moral virtues, 
the gifts of the Holy Ghost, w T hich are linked 
with the virtues themselves, have been necessary 
to us for exercising certain higher acts, for which 
the impulse of reason is not sufficient, but divine 
instigation is, moreover, required. Now, the gifts 
are certain habits, by which man is adapted 
promptly to obey the Holy Spirit, by whose im- 
pulse interiorly the human mind is wonderfully 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 321 

moved and incited to some rare and more excel- 
lent works, than commonly proceed even from 
us who are very diligent. But these are such 
that a man can scarcely give an account of them, 
nor know how he may have been impelled to 
them. Wherefore, in the use of the gifts man 
is led and acted upon rather than acts ; for it is 
written (Rom. viii, 14) : "Whosoever are led by 
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 
Still, he is not so led as to be entirely passive and 
carried away against his will, but he, too, acts by 
freely following and consenting; although fre- 
quently so great is the efficacy of the deity, that 
activity can hardly be distinguished from pass- 
iveness. 

2. But these gifts are seven in number: 
Wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, 
fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. Some of 
these are in the intellect, some in the will, for 
both faculties are formed for certain excellent 
operations. And since the intellect is practical 
and speculative, its speculative principle is formed 
for the perception of truth by the gift of under- 
standing, its practical by the gift of counsel: 
and for judging rightly, the speculative by the 
gift of wisdom, the practical by the gift of 
knowledge. But the faculty of appetite or the 
will, in what concerns another, is formed by the 
gift of piety; in what concerns one's self, against 
(21— Spir. Life.) 



322 PABT SECOND. 

dangers by fortitude, against longing after things 
that delight by fear. Accordingly understand- 
ing, besides the light of faith, causes the intellect- 
ive faculty to comprehend, from the impulse of the 
Holy Ghost more easily than from faith alone, 
truths revealed by God. Counsel, that it (the 
intellective faculty) may more surely find from 
the movement of the holy Spirit what is required 
in case of action. Wisdom, that through the im- 
pulse of the same Spirit according to divine rules, 
but knowledge, according to human, it may pass 
judgment on things in a divine manner. Piety 
affects the will, that it may be promptly moved 
with filial disposition towards God and things 
divine. Fear, in a singular manner restrains the 
concupiscible power from pleasures on God's ac- 
count. Lastly, fortitude rouses and strengthens 
the irascible faculty in a divine manner against 
dangers. Many examples of acts of these gifts 
have been conspicuous in the Church, especially 
of those who, of their own free will, with the im- 
pulse of the Holy Ghost, presented themselves 
to wild beasts and to the flames. The judgment 
of Solomon regarding the infant, whom the two 
women severally claimed, is usually ascribed to 
the gifts of wisdom and knowledge, sudden re- 
nouncement of the world to the gift of counsel, 
and to the gift of fear the many extraordinary 
deeds performed through devotion to chastity. 
But vain men and votaries of the world are not 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 323 

susceptible of such excellent acts, for the Holy- 
Ghost abandons thoughts that are without un- 
derstanding; and "the sensual man perceiveth 
not these things that are of the Spirit of God" 
(1 Cor. ii, 14). 

3. The fruits of the Holy Ghost are twelve, 
namely: charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, 
longanimity, benignity, meekness, faith, mod- 
esty, continence and chastity. For the most 
merciful God, in addition to habits of the vir- 
tues and gifts, by which he perfects man in this 
life, wished also to refresh and strengthen him 
with a certain ineffable sweetness, that he might 
the more easily- and readily reach the summit of 
christian perfection. For, with the co-operation 
of God's grace, those who are devoted to divine 
interests, from habits themselves of the virtues 
and gifts, elicit certain acts most palatable to the 
human heart, which are therefore called fruits 
from the resemblance of natural fruits, in which 
the whole sweetness of plants resides. But as 
natural fruit has two peculiarities, that it is the 
last which man expects from the soil and tree, 
and that it is pleasing to the taste; so, for a sim- 
ilar reason, two things are required for the fruit 
of the Holy Ghost — that it be something latest, 
and delight by its flavor. For instance charity, 
the first of the fruits, is nothing else than an act 
of the habit itself of charity, which act is also 
the last, since the habit is formed in order to it, 



324 PART SECOND. 

and is most sweet from the movement of the 
Holy Spirit infusing the relish of love. And thus 
man is then said to produce a fruit of the Holy 
Ghost, when through the agency of the same 
Spirit he elicits an excellent and delightful act 
of virtue, and that in all kinds of virtues; for 
though after the Apostle we have enumerated 
only twelve fruits, still all are not included in 
that number, but merely the more pre-eminent. 

4. The beatitudes are, likewise, acts which 
over and above delectation add a higher perfec- 
tion, and are therefore ascribed to the gifts, 
rather than to the virtues ; whereas, on the other 
hand, the fruits are acts of the /virtues, rather 
than of the gifts. They are eight in number: 
Poverty of spirit, meekness, mourning, hunger 
after justice, mercy, cleanness of heart, peace 
and endurance of persecution. So great is the 
excellence of these acts, that those, who are 
adorned with them, are deservedly pronounced 
blessed in the Gospel by our Lord Jesus Christ. 



Chapter III. Or Faith. 
Faith is a theological virtue infused by God, 
whereby we firmly assent to those things revealed 
by God on account of the supreme authority of the 
Kevealer ; for God is first truth, which can neither 
be deceived nor deceive. This virtue is the basis of 
the other virtues, the door of all spiritual goods, 
the foundation of the entire christian life, and as 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 325 

the Apostle says (Heb.xi, 1): "The substance of 
things to be hoped for, the evidence of things 
that appear not." But faith is twofold: one is 
called informal (or dead), which is found in sin- 
ners without the grace and love of God, the other 
is called formal (living), which is quickened by 
God's grace and love, and is said by the Apostle 
(Gal. v, 6) to work through charity, and this is 
the faith of the just, the beginning of our salva- 
tion, without which it is impossible to please 
God. 

§1. — Of the Motives and Acts of Faith. 
1. There are many motives which can induce 
us to believe, and incite us to the love of this most 
nobe virtue. And frst 9 indeed, the multitude of 
those arguments which make the things of faith 
evidently credible incite us ; of this kind are the 
preachings of the Prophets, the concord of the 
old and new Testaments, the constancy of the 
martyrs, who shed their blood for the faith of 
Christ, the punishment of those who assailed the 
christian religion, the agreement of so many 
nations and peoples in this faith, the numerous 
miracles that have been wrought for its confirma- 
tion, the attestation of its very adversaries and 
of unbelievers, the holiness of those who live ac- 
cording to the teaching of faith, the purity and 
wisdom of the Gospel law, its wonderful harmony 
with reason, the manner of promulgating the 



326 PABT SECOND, 

faith by humble, illiterate, defenceless apostles, 
and the conversion of the whole world through 
them ; the sanctity and wisdom of those w r ho 
have handed down the faith, the steadfast- 
ness of the Church under persecutions, the an- 
tiquity, holiness, wisdom of the sacred writings, 
and innumerable other motives of the same kind, 
which force us to exclaim: "Thy testimonies 
are become exceedingly credible" (Ps. xcii, 5). 
Secondly, the Catholic Church, the spouse of God, 
the pillar of truth, which Christ ever assists, from 
which the Holy Ghost never departs, who teaches 
it all the truth that has been enriched by the 
sacred books, the apostolic traditions and the 
teachings of the saints, and enhanced by the de- 
crees of supreme pontiffs, is of such weight with 
every wise man, that he infallibly believes, what- 
ever is proposed by her as God's word was spoken 
by God, from which he most certainly under- 
stands all falsity to be absent. 

2. The third motive is the sublimity, utility 
and necessity of faith. For faith is endowed 
with such dignity that it has for its object God, 
inasmuch as he is first truth moving the intellect 
to assent to things revealed ; the depth of whose 
wisdom is so great that neither the collective 
schools of philosophers, nor the angelic minds 
themselves can, by natural light alone, acquire 
even one revealed truth. God "hath not done 
m like manner to every nation ; and his judg- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 327 

merits he hath not made manifest to them" 
(Ps. exlvii, 20); for now the uncertain and hid- 
den things of divine wisdom, which were con- 
cealed from proud philosophers most eager for 
knowledge, are plain even to rustics and to 
women. This is the wisdom which subdued the 
earth and made the most powerful nations sub- 
ject to Christ; this has for author God alone, 
who infuses it into our understanding in baptism ; 
without this the entrance to eternal life is open 
to none. Though obscure, this makes man's un- 
derstanding assent to things proposed by it, just 
as if he saw them with his eyes and touched 
them with his hands. In Jine, this enlightens 
the faithful, restores the penitent, perfects the 
just, crowns martyrs, rescues from death and 
conducts to life. But these effects are not as- 
cribed to faith in such manner that faith alone 
produces them, but because faith itself for the 
most part begins, rules and accompanies them 
all. 

3. The acts of faith in general are two: one 
interior, which is firmly assenting to things re- 
vealed by God; the other exterior, namely, the 
confession of faith, according to that (Eom. 
x, 10) : "With the heart we believe unto justice; 
but with the mouth confession is made unto sal- 
vation." But in particular many other acts are 
enumerated, all which, however, are reduced to 
the two just named. These are the principal: 



328 PART SECOND. 

1) So to hold mentally to things proposed by 
faith, that we doubt none whatever, waver none. 
For faith, though obscure, is still most certain 
and more reliable than any other cognition what- 
ever. 2) With the utmost simplicity and humil- 
ity of mind to submit one's self to faith, and 
through faith to God and his church, to be edu- 
cated as a child, all curiosity being completely 
cast aside. 3) To study attentively, that faith 
be preserved whole and unalloyed, such as Christ 
and the Apostles delivered ; and to protect it safe 
and sound from every stigma, even at the ex- 
pense of one's blood. 4) To loathe the sight 
of heretics, and shun them as the banes of souls 
and children of the devil. 5) To be affected with 
great love and reverence towards the Church, 
and its head, the Vicar of Christ, to honor his 
decrees, cordially to receive, observe and venerate 
the holy councils, the traditions and common 
doctrine of the holy Fathers. 6) Frequently to 
exercise faith touching its more sublime mys- 
teries, and as we profess it interiorly, to display 
it in like manner exteriorly by good morals. 7) 
To extol and admire the most high and infallible 
providence of God in all things. 8) To note the 
presence of God in every place, and to adore God 
himself with supreme worship. 9) To imagine 
occasions of martyrdom, and as if in the presence 
of tvrants to encourage the heart to a ma^nan- 
imous confession despising torments. 10) To 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 329 

teach others the faith, to instruct the ignorant* 
and frequently to recite the creed. 11) To think 
very highly of matters of faith, and, as far as 
possible, to speak most honorably of them. 12) 
To praise, defend and put in practice all ecclesi- 
astical ceremonies, and all things having refer- 
ence to faith. Finally, to abstain from suspected 
books, lest something in any way contrary to 
purity of faith may insinuate itself. 



§2. — Of Occasions of Exercising Faith, and of 
its Marks. 
1. Occasions of exercising faith are various 
and manifold, some easy, some difficult, some 
necessary, others almost necessary, some inte- 
rior, others exterior. Occasions, which we have 
nearly always present, provided we recognize 
them, are easy. For instance, as often as God 
and his severity, mercies, threats and benefits 
come to the mind; as often as the conscience is 
stung by the recollection of sins ; as often as 
each one feels himself drawn away from sin by 
the fear of death, of judgment, of hell, of God 
himself; as often as he thinks of any duty of 
the christian religion discharged or to be dis- 
charged ; when he devoutly bends the knee, when 
he piously lifts his eyes to heaven, when he makes 
the sign of the cross on himself, when he ven- 
erates holy images, when he recites the creed, 
when he hears, reads, writes or names God, 



330 PART SECOND. 

Christ, the Gospel, Sacraments, and numerous 
other like things ; when he assists at the sacrifice 
of the Mass, the canonical hours, the burial of 
the dead, and other ecclesiastical functions; for 
in these actions of faith can be overlooked for 
no consideration, since the greatest Sacraments 
of christian faith are annexed to them. Other 
more difficult occasions are those which are not 
at hand, but require some reflection of mind, 
such as those things that are contained in the 
sacred writings, whether they be histories or the 
praises of God, whether prophecies or moral pre- 
cepts, or whether it be the life of Christ, and his 
passion and resurrection. Necessary occasions 
are those in which we are bound, under guilt of 
grievous sin, to profess faith exteriorly, of which 
subject theologians treat; those, also, in which 
any one can scarcely be placed without exercising 
faith. Of this kind are obedience and alms- 
giving ; for no one can perfectly obey and give 
alms, without beholding Christ in his Superior 
and in the poor man ; but this contemplation is 
by faith. Those are called almost necessary, 
which arise from intimacy and intercourse with 
unbelievers, and from temptations against faith ; 
for then acts of faith are to be elicited. The 
interior are occurring continually, for God's 
countless favors to us, grace, charity, lights, 
movements of the heart and consolations impress 
faith on a waking mind. In fine, the external are 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 331 

taken from things outside us. For do not the 
earth, heavens, air, water, and whatever is con- 
tained in them, most obviously present faith to 
us? Does not fire bring hell and purgatory to 
mind? Do not the trophies of the cross raised 
aloft, sacred images, belfries, basilicas conse- 
crated to God and the saints preach faith? The 
waking mind will not allow these and similar 
occasions to escape, but shall be encouraged by 
them to exercise faith. 

2. These are the marks and tokens of perfect 
faith: 1) Simplicity and renunciation of all in- 
quiry and curiosity, such as was in Abraham, 
when he prepared himself to sacrifice his son. 2) 
When one feels himself so fixed and steadfast in 
faith, that he thinks he cannot ever be separated 
from it by any means. 3) When one perceives 
himself animated to exercising heroic actions of 
faith, and easily embraces chances offered of per- 
forming the several duties of faith. 4) When 
we rejoice at the faith and salvation of our neigh- 
bors, grieve for their ruin, and ardently wish for 
the conversion of all infidels. 



§3.-0/ the Effects of Faith. 
1. The Angelic Doctor specifies two effects 
of faith : fear of God and purity of heart. Now, 
that fear springs from faith is inferred from 
these words of Saint James (ii, 19) : "The devils 
also believe and tremble." Saint Augustin's 



332 TAUT SECOND 

opinion, too, is celebrated: If he has begun to 
believe, he has begun to fear likewise. But fear 
is a detestation of sii?, lest one incur temporal or 
eternal punishment, lest he lose gloiy and offend 
his Creator. There are four species of it. For, 
first, fear is mundane, which is always bad, since 
one is turned away from God, because he fears 
to endure the troubles of the flesh and to lose 
the goods of the world. The second fear is ser- 
vile, when one through fear of hell abstains from 
sins, and here commences to be good, because it 
is the beginning of conversion and the road to 
charity. The third is called initial, when one re- 
treats from ill because he fears on one side to in- 
cur penalties, and on the other to be separated 
from God. The fourth fear is that of which we 
sing (Ps. xviii, 10): "The fear of the Lord is 
holy, enduring for ever and ever," and is called 
filial proceeding from the love of God, since a 
man avoids evils and lives uprightly through sole 
reverence and veneration of God, whom he loves. 
Its own great advantages excite us to this fear; 
for fear is the beginning of wisdom, the starting- 
point of justice, the expulsion of sin, the protec- 
tion of virtues, the door of salvation, the orna- 
ment of the Saints. The Scriptures excite us 
(Ps. xxxiii, 10): "Fear the Lord all ye his 
saints," and (Ibid, cxi, 1) : "Blessed is the man 
that f eareth the Lord," and (Ibid, xxxiii, 12): 
"Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 333 

you the fear of the Lord." Different consider- 
ations excite us, namely : that of our own frailty, 
because we are often disturbed for the lightest 
reason, and ought, therefore, always be in dread 
of lapsing; of the bitterness of Christ's passion, 
for from the nature of the remedy the gravity of 
wounds and weakness is easily perceived ; of the 
severity of divine justice, for if God spared not 
the rebel angels, if he cast our first parents out 
of paradise for eating of an apple, what shall 
wretched sinners expect, who dwell in houses of 
clay and have an earthen foundation? 

2. Acts of the fear of God are of the follow- 
ing kind: 1) To realize the gravity of sins, and 
to ponder on God's severity and justice. 2) To 
be penitent for past life and duly to satisfy for 
it. 3) To fly all imperfections, however light, 
according to that of Ecclesiastes (vii, 19) : "He 
that feareth God neglecteth nothing." 4) To 
be strengthened against temptations, for evils 
shall not befall him who fears God. 5) To 
keep God's commandments and to walk carefully 
in his presence, and always to dread one's self. 

But the occasions of rousing the fear of God 
in us are many, and particularly sudden deaths, 
thunders, lightnings, storms, magistrates, rulers, 
ministers of justice, plunderings of cities, con- 
flagrations, murders, unexpected accidents, con- 
sciousness of past life, the orthodox faith itself 
and all its mysteries and sacraments. Lastly, 



384 PABT SECOND. 

the indications of chaste and filial fear are not to 
dread the coming of the Bridegroom, but to long 
for it; for she is an adulteress, who desires her 
bridegroom to delay, and fears lest he may come ; 
to refrain from sin on account of God's offence 
alone, even though no punishment were to be in- 
flicted for it; to be willing to endure hell, if a 
choice were given, rather than to sin; to attend 
to the amelioration of morals with great care and 
solicitude, and to aspire to the imitation of 
Christ ; to think humbly of ourselves, and always 
to fear destruction, as it is written (1 Cor. x, 
12): "He that thinketh himself to stand, let 
him take heed lest he fall." 

3. The other effect of faith is purity of heart, 
of which the Apostle Peter says (Acts, xv, 9): 
"Purifying their hearts by faith;" for the im- 
purity of anything consists in this, that it is 
commingled with things more vile ; but a rational 
creature, since he is more noble than all things 
temporal and corporal, if he mingle with them, 
contracts uncleanness, from which he cannot be 
purified, unless he turn to God by a contrary 
movement; but this conversion has its begin- 
ning from faith, and therefore purity of heart is 
said to be the effect of faith. And if cleanness 
of body and raiment, pleasing as well to the man 
procuring it as to others, is salutary and most 
agreeable, how much more purity of heart? 
For this carries off remorse of conscience, rejects 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 335 

sins, heals wounds, and invites God and angels 
to love of the soul; this opens the mind's eyes to 
see God by an act of sublime contemplation, as 
it is written (Matt, v, 8) : "Blessed are the clean 
of heart : for they shall see God." The actions 
of purity are, to put off love of visible things ; 
to cast aside too great affection towards self, 
towards this life and temporal welfare; to purge 
the thoughts from evil and vain apprehensions; to 
keep one's self unsullied from sins both grievous 
and light ; mentally to cleave to God and heav- 
enly things. 

Chapter IV. — Of Hope. 
Hope is a theological virtue residing in the 
will, by which we hope for eternal beatitude from 
the grace of God and antecedent merits. Its 
chief praise, in which it even surpasses the other 
virtues, is to be the felicity of mortal life, if 
there can be any felicity here; for from this 
are the just blessed, because they have a right to 
beatitude, and surely expect it ; therefore, the 
Prophet said (Ps. xxxix, 5) : "Blessed is the man 
whose trust is in the name of the Lord." Again, 
great delight springs from hope as the Apostle 
testifies, who says (Eom. xii, 12): "Rejoicing 
in hope;" for there is nothing that so refreshes 
and gladdens the mind wearied in the midst of 
the world's tempests, as a firm hope of celestial 
glory. But so great is the estimation of the 



336 PABT SECOND. 

noble in this sublime virtue, that it begets the 
most liberal minds; for it both supplies strength 
to undertake everything arduous, and powerfully 
lifts up man towards God, as if he were laden 
with no burden of flesh, as it is written (Isaias, 
xl, 31): "They that hope in the Lord shall renew 
their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, 
. and not be weary." Moreover, God has 
promised infallible aid to those that hope in him 
(Ps. xc, 14) : "Because he hath hoped in me, I 
will deliver him ;" for Christ has encouraged us 
to hope by these words (John, xvi, 33) : "Have 
confidence, I have overcome the world;" because 
a perverse world obstructs our journey to eternity, 
but if Christ has overcome it, there is no reason 
why we may despair of victory. 



§1. — Of the Actions, Occasions and Marks of 

Hope. 
1. These are the acts of hope: 1) To hope 
for eternal beatitude of soul and body, and a per- 
petual home in the City of God. 2) To hope 
from the Lord for the means of acquiring this 
felicity, namely ; remission of sins, extinction of 
vices, mortification of passions, acquisition of 
virtues, victory over temptations, the grace and 
friendship of God, and, in a word, our sanctifica- 
tion. 3) To hope for the help of the Blessed 
Virgin, of the angels, and of the saints, either 
reigning with God, or still living on earth, who 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 337 

will aid us by their prayers to obtain beatitude. 
4) To hope for all these, not from our own 
merits, but from God's infinite bounty and the 
merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. 5) On ac- 
count of such firm expectation of celestial goods 
to bear all adversities patiently, to despise human 
things, manfully to undertake everything diffi- 
cult, not to surrender under toil. 6) To con- 
ceive a strong belief of the divine election, 
whereby the Lord, through his infinite mercy, 
has chosen us in Christ, that we might be holy 
and spotless, and sharers of eternal life. 7) To 
consider not alone the mercy, but also the justice 
of God, and to sing to one's self that of the 
Psalmist (xxiv, 10) : "All the ways of the Lord 
are mercy and truth." 8) When we recite the 
Lord's prayer to say with extraordinary aspira- 
tion: "Thy kingdom come," and not only to 
pray that it may come, but also to hope it is to 
come. 

2. Many occasions of exercising hope present 
themselves: first, when we pray, according to 
that (1 John, v, 14): "This is the confidence 
which we have towards him : that whatsoever we 
shall ask according to his will, he heareth us." 
2) In the use of the sacraments, for through 
them we hope to acquire those blessings for which 
they have been divinely instituted. 3) During 
calamities and afflictions (Ps. xxi, 5): "They 
(22— Spir. Life.) 



338 PABT SECOND. 

trusted in thee, and were not confounded." 4) 
When our sins strike fear into us ; for then we 
should hope in him, who has given himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. 
5) When we read, write or hear anything regard- 
ing acts of this virtue. 

But the signs of hope are: joy and gladness of 
mind in toils and sufferings for Christ; self -con- 
tempt and a will prepared for martyrdom, if occa- 
sion require; a good conscience; patience with 
perseverance, because our work shall have re- 
ward, though what we hope for may be a while 
deferred. 

§2. — Of Placing Confidence in God Alone. 
1. Annexed to hope is confidence, by which 
we firmly expect divine protection in all our trials, 
adversities and necessities, as well spiritual as 
temporal. We shall excite this in ourselves on 
the warrant of the divine promises ; for in the 
holy Scriptures scarcely a chapter is found in 
which God does not promise aid, grace and con- 
solation to all trusting in him (Ps. liv, 23): 
"Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sus- 
tain thee," and (Ibid, xxvi, 1): "The Lord is 
the protector of my life, of whom shall I be 
afraid?" (IPet. v, 7): "Casting all your care 
upon him, for h<e hath care of you." Christ, too, 
in the Gospel, prompts us to this confidence by 
the example of little birds, which do not gather 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 339 

grain into barns, and yet their heavenly Father 
feeds them (Matt, vi, 26); by the example of 
lilies, which do not toil nor spin, and yet are so 
splendidly clad (Ibid. 28); by the example of 
the little sparrow, which does "not fall on the 
ground without your Father" (Ibid, x, 29). All 
the saints have likewise furnished us the bright- 
est examples of this virtue. Abraham trusted in 
hope against hope, knowing full well that what- 
ever God has promised he is able also to accom- 
plish. Joseph, Viceroy of Egypt, armed with 
this virtue, persevered with unshaken courage in 
so many adversities. Moses, fortified by the same, 
performed so many miracles. Relying on the 
same, Josue ventured to command the sun, and 
the sun stood still, God obeying the voice of 
man. What need to mention the holy Judges 
and Kings? What Judith, Esther and Susanna? 
What the saints of the New Testament? They 
all hoped in God and were not confounded, and 
their heart was confident in God. 

2. The first action of faith embraces all man's 
acts; for in all things whatsoever, great and 
small, and at every moment of life, confidence is 
to be put in God, that he will never be wanting 
to his own. Next, other actions are to call upon 
God in all our necessities, and to have the high- 
est confidence in prayer; if God shall have de- 
ferred giving relief, to do manfully and be 
strengthened, and courageously to bear with the 



340 PABT SECOND. 

Lord; when it is ill with us, to turn straight at 
that moment to God, and confidently complain 
to him of whatever grieves us ; by no means to 
abandon confidence in adverse occurrences; so to 
trust in God, that we may not trust in men, be- 
cause it is written (Jer. xvii, 5): "Cursed be 
the man that trusteth in man." But God re- 
wards confidence in himself with many largesses. 
For this deceives none, because "hope confound- 
eth not" (Kom. v, 5). Great tranquility of life 
springs from it (Ps. v, 12): "Let all them be 
glad that hope in thee;" it gives strength in ad- 
versity, and renders the mind indomitable to 
calamity (Ibid, xxv, 1): "I have put my trust 
in the Lord, and shall not be weakened;" it re- 
leases from vices, preserves from fault (Ibid, 
xxxiii, 23): "And none of them that trust in 
him shall offend." Finally, it makes men in 
some measure omnipotent, as the Scripture says 
(Philip, iv, 13): "I can do all things in him 
who strengthened me," and "through my God 
I shall go over a wall" (Ps. xvii, 30). 



§3. — In What Manner We Ought to Depend 
on Divine Providence, so as to Place Confi- 
dence in God Alone. 

1. It will scarcely happen that one places 
confidence in God alone, unless he acknowledge 
divine Providence, and entirely depend on it, and 
allow himself to be ruled and led at its beck. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 34 1 

But Providence is divine being itself, harmoni- 
ously governing all things, and fitly setting all 
in order. And since it is most certain that all 
things are governed by God's providence, so that 
not a leaf falls from a tree but at his nod and 
will ; it is necessary that man deliver himself 
wholly to Providence itself with great hope and 
innermost resolution, nothing doubting but that 
he shall have opportune aid for all necessities. 
Therefore, in all things that we shall undertake, 
handle and perform, w T e shall omit none of the 
attention, labor and industry, which it is fit to 
employ; then, judging all our service of no value, 
we shall commit the whole affair to God, expect- 
ing from him the beginning, progress and end 
of all our works. We shall not be anxious and 
uneasy about ourselves and our concerns, not 
relying on human aids and counsels, since all 
these are deceitful and uncertain ; but with great 
peace of mind we shall live for the present, re- 
posing under the shade of the divine guardian- 
ship, because it has charge of us. 

2. It is also of great importance not to be dis- 
concerted in this matter, nor to fail in courage 
on account of any sudden and unforeseen occur- 
rence, however inopportune it may appear; for 
it is most certain, that divine Providence admin- 
isters even the most trivial matters with supreme 
care; and, therefore, w r e shall show ourselves in 
all respects pliant and docile to the divine dispo- 



342 TAUT SECOND. 

sition, holding for certain that whatever of pros- 
perity or adversity shall happen to us, has been 
most wisely ordained from all eternity for God's 
greater glory and our salvation. But when 
things occur, by which the whole train of our 
actions and designs is thrown into disorder, or 
cut off either by diseases or false accusations, or 
other like misfortunes, we ought to bow to the 
divine rule, and completely deliver up our will to 
eternal wisdom, which will lead us at length to 
the destined harbor of everlasting felicity through 
various accidents and various dangers. Whether 
God wish us to enjoy the best health, or order 
our body to be wasted by long illness, whether 
that we be occupied in splendid or in mean 
offices ; whether he command that we live or die, 
that we endure darkness and desolations, or re- 
fresh our soul with continual peace and consola- 
tion ; we shall always show him a will prepared 
for either, since he disposes all things wisely, nor 
is there anv one who can resist his will. 



Chapter V. — Or Charity. 
Charity is the third theological virtue, the 
animating principle and queen of all virtues, the 
fulness of the law and essential perfection of our 
soul, having a twofold relation, namely: towards 
God and towards our neighbor. And, first, we 
shall treat of charity towards God, then of the 
same, as it regards our neighbor. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 843 

§1. — Of Charity Towards God. 
1. Charity towards God is that by which we 
love him above all things amiable, with our whole 
heart, with our whole soul, with our whole ener- 
gies, not through fear of punishment or hope of 
reward, but for his own sake and for his infinite 
goodness. We have countless incentives to this 
virtue; for since the good and beautiful are the 
causes of love, God is the supreme good and all 
good, of whose infinite beauty the slightest shade 
ought to be considered the grace and charm of 
all creatures. But if benefits received are wont 
to excite the affection of our love towards a ben- 
efactor, are not all things contained in the com- 
pass of heaven our benefit? The earth, water, 
air, fire, beasts and all cattle, the birds of the air 
and fishes of the sea, every tree of the wood, 
every shrub of the field, the heavens themselves 
and the sun and moon and stars, the very angelic 
spirits also are benefits conferred on us by God. 
That we are, that we live, that we move, that we 
feel, that we understand, that we are capable of 
eternal life; all these we have received from the 
divine bounty without any antecedent merits of 
ours. And who will not be inflamed with most 
ardent emotion of charity towards so great and 
so munificent a Benefactor? To these is added 
the infinite loveliness of charity itself, whose 
superiority and excellence are such, that neither 



344 PABT SECOND. 

the tongues of angels, nor prophecy, nor the gift 
of miracles, nor alms-givings, nor martyrdom it- 
self are thought by the Apostle of any worth or 
merit, if charity be wanting (1 Cor. xiii, 1-3). 

2. And so this primary virtue, since it im- 
parts form and life to the remaining virtues, 
ought to be cultivated with as much care and at- 
tention as we are wont to bestow in the treat- 
ment and preservation of bodily life. For as 
man dies when the soul leaves the bodv, so also 
when charity, which is the spiritual life of the 
soul, departs from it, the soul itself is considered 
dead in the sight of God, and becomes loath- 
some as a putrid corpse. On this depend the en- 
tire law and the Prophets; this is the aim of all 
God's laws; this the sum and highest command- 
ment of the Gospel : "Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with thy whole heart, . . . this is 
the greatest and first commandment" (Matt, 
xxii, 37, 38). Finally, in this consists the es- 
sential perfection of the christian religion, this 
is the mark of God's children and the highest 
pitch of spiritual life. For our end, towards 
which we advance, is God ; but charity unites us 
to God, as the Scripture says (1 John, iv, 16): 
"He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and 
God in him;" therefore, charity joins our soul 
to its ultimate end, and with it we possess all 
gifts, all virtues. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 345 

§2. — Of the Acts of Charity Towards God. 

These are the acts of charity towards God: 
1) To love God as the supreme good and our 
end on account of the benefits which we have 
received and which we hope from him. 2) To 
love God simply for his own sake. 3) To wish 
God all his goods, as wisdom, goodness, jus- 
tice and his other attributes for this sole reason, 
that they are his goods. 4) To rejoice for his 
perfections, and because he is adored by the 
angels and saints, and service is paid him by 
all things. 5) To desire that every creature 
acknowledge and worship him ; and that infidels 
be converted to the faith, sinners to a good life. 
6) To be sorry as well for one's own sins, as for 
those of others, because they are injurious to 
God. 7) Firmly to resolve faithfully to keep 
all God's commandments, because it is written 
(John, xiv, 23): "If any one love me, he will 
keep my word." 8) To hate all things which 
we know to be displeasing to God; and to rejoice 
at those which please God, whether they be 
sweet or bitter. A proof of love is, to ask per- 
severance of God with very earnest prayers ; very 
ardently to desire union with God; to rejoice in 
penalties and troubles of every description for 
God's sake; to command acts and services of all 
virtues, and cause that they be performed for 
God alone; for charity is the queen of virtues, 
and the record of work is a demonstration of 



346 PABT SECOND. 

love. Lastly, the most perfect act of charity 
and most noble of all actions, which can be per- 
formed by man for God's sake, is martyrdom; 
for there is nothing more precious and dear than 
life (John, xv, 13): "Greater love than this no 
man hath, that a man lay down his life for his 
friends." 

§3. — Of Occasions of Exercising Charity 
Towards God, and of its Symptoms. 

1. Occasions exciting the love of God in us 
are without number. For God's favors, which 
ought to inflame our love for God, are infinite, 
because "he made us, and not we ourselves;" he 
governs and conserves us ; he has adorned us with 
many endowments, with talents, strength, health, 
honors, riches and countless other prerogatives 
of soul and body ; he has redeemed us from the 
slavery of the devil ; he has ennobled our soul 
with grandest gifts of grace. These gifts are 
common and known to all; but others more re- 
condite are found, which properly belong to indi- 
viduals, of which kind are: Good education and 
piety of parents, to have drunk the true religion 
with a mother's milk, moral training of masters, 
to have been endowed with a good disposition, 
preservation from many evils, rescue from many 
dangers, to have risen after falling, withdrawal 
from the world, vocation to religion, and several 
other favors of the same sort, which can scarcely 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY, 347 

be enumerated. And this is the first occasion of 
loving God, as beneficent and generous towards 
us. The second occasion then presents itself to 
us, when God is thought of or named, and his 
attributes come to mind or are mentioned, such 
as his power, wisdom, goodness, immensity and 
other perfections, which are called purely simple 
by divines, the consideration of which shall ex- 
cite in the human heart great love towards the 
most high and perfect God, than whom noth- 
ing greater and better can be conceived. The 
third occasion is the love itself of God towards 
men, because "he hath first loved us" (1 John, 
iv, 10). The fourth occasion is the sort of friend- 
ship which God has with men ; for it is written, 
that faithful and good men have been made 
partakers of God's friendship (Wis. vii, 14); 
and Christ called his Apostles friends (John,xv, 
15) : "Because," says he, "all things whatsoever 
I have heard of my Father, I have made known 
to you." But a friend is to be loved for his own 
sake with reciprocal affection. 

2. The first and surest token of our love for 
God is, willingly and courageously to bear for 
God's sake everything however untoward, griev- 
ous and hard. For lovers invariably think them- 
selves happy, when they endure adversity for 
those whom they love. The second token is, to 
love God in such a manner, that through excess of 
love we may be carried away beyond ourselves, 



348 PABT SECOND. 

so as to be oblivious of all other things and al- 
most of ourselves. For extraordinary love, such 
as is that of God, admits no associate. The 
third is an assiduous habit of praying, for he who 
loves will always desire to enjoy the conversation 
and society of the person loved. The fourth is 
affection for Christ our Lord, and for his passion 
and death. For this is the loadstone of our love, 
which more alluringly wins, more closely binds, 
more powerfully affects our devotion. The fifth 
is the rejection and despoiling of every affection 
and love for all things that are not God, and 
transfusion into God alone, so that no solace may 
betaken in creatures. Such was the sign in the 
ancient Fathers inhabiting frightful solitudes, 
who with the highest praise and admiration pre- 
ferred divine love to all things. 



§4. — Of Charity Towards Our Neighbor. 
1. The theological virtue, by which we love 
God and our neighbor, is one and the same, for 
one God is the reason and cause of either love. 
Now, charity towards our neighbor is that whereby 
we love men, as well friends as enemies, for 
God's sake. But to love for God's sake is noth- 
ing else than to love them, inasmuch as they 
share in themselves something of God, and 
that they may attain to the goods of grace and 
glory, and because God wishes us to treat them 
with love. And though the love of God be much 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 349 

more noble than that of the neighbor, still the 
former is completed and perfected by love of the 
neighbor, as John says (1 John, iv, 12): "If 
we love one another, God abideth in us, and his 
charity is perfected in us." Nay, the charity of 
God without that of the neighbor is vain and 
illusive on the evidence of the same Apostle, who 
says (Ibid, iv, 20) : "If any man say, I love God, 
and hateth his brother, he is a liar." 

2. But many motives induce us to love our 
neighbor. First, the necessity, utility and facility 
of love; for "Love ... is the fulfilling of 
the law" (Eom. xiii, 10), and all the law is ful- 
filled in the single expression: "Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself;" again, by loving our 
neighbor we make his goods our own (Prov. xviii, 
19): "A brother that is helped by his brother, 
is like a strong city;" lastly, the precept of love 
can be fulfilled by all, by the poor man and by 
the rich, by him who is in health and by the in- 
firm. Secondly, the example of Christ, who 
loved us and cleansed us from our sins in his 
blood ; and if God hath so loved us, we too ought 
to love one another. Thirdly, the edification of 
our neighbor (John, xiii, 35) : "By this shall all 
men know that you are my disciples, if you have 
love one for another." Finally, our very con- 
dition of neighbors, because, indeed, all of us 
men are mutually brethren and members of one 
body in Christ, called to the same glory and 



350 PABT SECOND. 

faith, of all whom there is one Father, who is 
in heaven. 

3. These are the actions of charity towards 
our neighbor: 1) To be affected towards all men, 
inasmuch as they are capable of beatitude in 
God, and on account of God, and to wish them 
all the blessings of grace and glory ; external and 
corporal goods also, as far as they contribute to 
acquire the true good of beatitude. 2) To re- 
joice at all their spiritual and temporal goods, to 
grieve at their ills. 3) Immediately to quench 
the sparks of all bitterness, suspicion and aver- 
sion springing up in the mind against any one, 
and to interpret all in the better sense. 4) To 
excuse others' defects, and modestly to overlook 
and conceal them. 5) To bear injuries and 
offences with equanimity, because "charity is 
patient, is kind, beareth all things, endureth all 
things." 6) Not to seek one's own interests, to 
anticipate others in services and duties, to assist 
all by counsel, word, work and example. 7) To 
love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, 
pray for those who persecute and calumniate us ; 
and to have a mind ready to sacrifice our life for 
their salvation. 

§5. — Of the Occasio7is and Marks of Charity 
Towards Our Neighbor. 
1. As many occasions of charity towards our 
neighbor spontaneously present themselves, as 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 351 

are his needs and miseries, both corporal and 
spiritual. To the body belong the corporal works 
of mercy, namely: to feed the hungry, to give 
drink to the thirsty, to clothe the nakedness of 
the poor, to give hospitality to strangers, for- 
eigners and aliens, to visit the sick and prisoners, 
to redeem the captive, to assist at the burial of 
the dead, and to bury their bodies, if necessary. 
To the soul appertain the spiritual works of 
mercy, that is, to correct sinners opportunely, 
affectionately and effectually, to teach the ignor- 
ant, to rescue unbelievers from their errors, to 
instruct the rude and illiterate in matters of faith 
and morals, rightly to counsel the doubtful, to 
console the sorrowful and afflicted, to bear in- 
juries patiently, to forgive offences readily and 
cordially, to pray for the neighbor's salvation. 
But in nothing is charity exercised more than in 
fraternal correction and in the spiritual instruc- 
tion of the uneducated. And, indeed, correction 
towards sinners is to be used by all, as Christ 
commanded, saying (Matt, xviii, 15): "If thy 
brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke 
him between thee and him alone." But how and 
to what extent this precept may bind, and of the 
practice of this correction, theologians discuss 
many points, which are to be enquired from 
them. Instruction, however, does not regard all, 
only bishops and pastors of souls, and others by 
profession destined to this duty. But this occa- 



352 PART SECOND. 

sion of assisting our brethren is very comprehen- 
sive, if only charity, which is patient and kind, 
overcome the difficulties cropping up. 

2. Now, the difficulties are many. The first, if 
any persons approach us for the purpose of disci- 
pline or penance, they may come unprepared and 
led by mere custom. The second, if the hearer 
does not understand what we propose for his soul's 
salvation. The third, when we observe that they 
are not moved by our words. The fourth, when 
little or no hope of amendment is shown. The 
fifth, when we are detained by some important 
engagement, from which we reluctantly permit 
ourselves to be taken away. The sixth, when we 
bear unwillingly the disgust of always hearing 
the same, repeating the same things. The sev- 
enth, when hearing the vices and temptations of 
others we ourselves are buffeted by the same. 
Charity will supply the remedies of these diffi- 
culties; f or, first, we will kindly teach those who 
come unprepared, and God will lead them into the 
right path by our ministry. Secondly, we ought 
to lower and accommodate ourselves to the ca- 
pacity of all. Thirdly, all means are to be tried, 
he is to be felt, pricked, pinched, as if he were 
oppressed with a lethargic disease. Fourthly, 
when we shall have done our duty, the rest must 
be left to God. Fifthly, nothing is to be pre- 
ferred to charity. Sixthly, a maternal affection is 
to be assumed, and all will seem new. Seventhly, 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 353 

so much the more easily shall we be delivered 
from our own ills, the more mercifully we are 
afflicted and wearied by those of others. 

3. The following are the marks of charity 
towards our neighbor: 1) An ardent desire for 
the salvation of souls, and a will prompt and 
ready to bear anything for our neighbor's salva- 
tion. 2) Perseverance in the love of our neigh- 
bor, though he may not correspond with it; 
compassion for others' misfortune, as if it were 
entirely our own. 3) To despise none, to judge 
none, nor to abandon concern for a brother, 
though he may not amend. 4) To forgive all 
injuries from the heart, and to feel great sorrow 
when we ourselves offend any one, so that remorse 
of conscience cease not, till we shall have recon- 
ciled him to us. 5) But if he decline reconcilia- 
tion, or be absent, we must do what is in our 
power, and in the depth of our heart the law of 
charity is to be fulfilled towards him, by uniting 
him to our affection, and then all trouble of con- 
science shall cease. 6) In fine, it is a sign of 
charity towards our neighbor existing in us, not 
to be angry, although he may visit us with many 
disfavors and insults, and may detract us and 
tear our reputation to pieces. 



§ 6. — Of Zeal for the Salvation of /Souls. 
1. Zeal is an effect of love, wherefore, since 
charity is the most excellent love, from it like* 
(23— Spir. Life.) 



354 PABT SECOND. 

wise springs zeal of procuring the salvation of 
souls by every effort, as a thing most pleasing to 
God, "who wishes all men to be saved, and to 
come to the knowledge of the truth." By this 
zeal we co-operate with God towards a most di- 
vine work, as S. Denis the Areopagite writes, for 
which the eternal Word came down from heaven 
and was made flesh, and labored assiduously for 
thirty-threeyears,andultimately died on the cross. 
Since then each of us has been called to the per- 
fect love of God, we ought to be most desirous 
and zealous for his glory, and exceedingly grieved 
that God himself, the fountain of all goods and 
our everlasting good, has so few who truly fear, 
love and worship him as is befitting; to deplore 
which evil we shall invite even things devoid of 
sense, exclaiming with Jeremias (ii, 12): "Be 
astonished, O ye heavens at this, and ye gates 
thereof be very desolate." Likewise, consider- 
ing the very grievous and numerous sins of un- 
believers and bad christians, and God incensed 
on their account, we shall be moved to compas- 
sion and to affording help to those in danger. 

2. Let us propose to ourselves the very ar- 
dent zeal with which holy men have been on fire. 
Moses, to appease God, burst forth even into 
these words (Exod. xxxii, 31): "Either forgive 
them this trespass, ... or strike me out of 
the book that thou hast written." Elias, when 
he had retired into a certain cave, groaned, say- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 355 

ing (3 Kings, xix, 10): "With zeal have I been 
zealous for the Lord God of hosts : for the chil- 
dren of Israel have forsaken thy covenant." 
With what tears has Jeremias bewailed the de- 
vastation of Jerusalem ! Saint Paul exclaimed 
(2 Cor. xii, 15): "But I most gladly will spend 
and be spent myself for your souls." But what 
more ardent than the zeal of Christ, who for 
our salvation "became obedient unto death, even 
the death of the cross?" To imitate this zeal 
we ought to take upon ourselves the sins of all 
together with our own, and for their satisfaction 
offer the infinite merits of Christ our Lord to the 
eternal Father, that out of his immense love he 
may deign to be favorable to all. And if men 
with doubtful hope of perishable riches under- 
take very long journeys, undergoing great dan- 
gers and hardships, what ought we to do for win- 
ning souls, one of whom is more precious than 
heaven and earth? 

3. But the practice and use of zeal consists in 
the following : It is necessarv to have a very 
broad and liberal spirit, that may embrace all 
parts of the earth and all mankind, and may be 
desirous of the salvation of all, so that in reality 
and words we may say with the Apostle (1 Cor. 
ix, 22) : "I became all things to all men, that I 
might save all." Our acumen is to be sharpened 
to devise various ways and suitable means for the 
different kinds of men, in order to the improve- 



'356 PABT SECOND. 

merit of morals, the extirpation of heresies, the 
conversion of unbelievers, the conciliation and 
preservation of concord, the advancement in good 
of all states and ranks of persons, not by a sud- 
den and quickly vanishing fervor, but by stable 
and true charity. With an upright and unyield- 
ing will all difficulties are to be overcome, that 
might retard or impede measures undertaken for 
the salvation of souls. We must so attend to the 
amelioration of others, that our own salvation 
may be more abundantly cared for than that of 
others, and that, according to the maxim of Saint 
Bernard, we may belike to basins irrigating others 
from what overflows, not to pipes which pour out 
all the water to another place, retaining nothing 
for themselves. As great industry is to be ap- 
plied to procuring the salvation of others, as our 
forces strengthened by divine grace will supply ; 
then a great dread is to be conceived of render- 
ing an account to God, if we shall have been neg- 
ligent in this matter. Finally, we must pray 
constantly for those who need our spiritual serv- 
ice ; and all are to be helped by good example 
and holy conversation. 



§7.-0/ the Effects of Charity. 

1. The effects of charity are of a twofold 

kind — for some are interior, namely : joy, peace 

and mercy ; some exterior, to wit : beneficence, 

almsgiving and fraternal correction. Joy is an 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 357 

effect of the will proceeding from love, on ac- 
count of the presence of good that is loved. But 
we ought to rejoice at the presence of God in us, 
at all God's goods and perfections, at the beat- 
itude promised us, at the union of the Word with 
human nature, at the wonderful presence of 
Christ in the Eucharist, and at the goods of our 
neighbors, whom w T e love as ourselves. Peace is 
a complete harmony and union of appetites in 
true good, and is a true effect of charity as its 
own act, or as a certain relation consequent on 
an act of the same charity. But charity unites 
us with God, that we may love him with our 
whole heart and refer all things to him ; it unites 
us with our neighbor, that we may love him as 
ourselves, and desire to accomplish his will as 
our own, because it is the character of friends to 
have the same wishes and dislikes. Finally, it 
causes us to be in harmony with ourselves, be- 
cause our heart looking to God alone does not 
go after contrary things. Hence, peace follows, 
which is not found except in the just, of whom it 
is written (Ps. cxviii, 165): "Much peace have 
they that love thy law." Mercy is grief or sad- 
ness at another's ill, involuntarily considered as 
one's own, which the sympathizer wishes to re- 
lieve as far as in him lies and he conveniently 
can. By this virtue we imitate God, "who makes 
his sun to rise upon the good and bad," where- 
fore, it is said to us (Luke, vi, 13): "Be ye 



358 PABT SECOND. 

. . merciful, as your Father also is merci- 
ful." Of the same it is written (Matt, v, 7): 
"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain 
mercy." In fine, from its works we shall be 
judged on the last day, for the Judge shall say 
(Matt, xxv, 35): "I was hungry and you gave 
me to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me to 
drink;" and (James, ii, 13): "Judgment without 
mercy to him that hath not done mercy." 

2. Beneficence is a good affection of the will 
joined to work, whereby, for God's sake, we con- 
fer benefits on all to whom we can bestow. This 
action of charity our Savior always afforded, who 
"went about doing good and healing all." The 
Apostle commends the same saying (Heb. xiii, 
16) : "Do not forget to do good and to impart: 
for by such sacrifices God's favor is obtained." 
At length, without this there is little or no fra- 
ternal charity, because the proof of love is the 
display of work (Cant, viii, 7) : "If a man should 
give all the substance of his house for love, he 
shall despise it as nothing." Almsgiving is an 
act of charity, by which, for God's sake, we re- 
lieve another's misery. And great is its utility, 
for "as water extinguishes fire, so almsgiving ex- 
tinguishes sin." And: "Blessed is he that un- 
derstandeth concerning the needy and the poor: 
the Lord will deliver him in the evil day" (Ps. 
xl, 2). But when almsgiving falls under coun- 
sel, when under precept, is to be enquired of 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 359 

theologians. Fraternal correction is that which 
applies a remedy against sins, in as far as they 
are an evil to the sinner himself, for his amend- 
ment. This appertains more to charity than the 
reparation of exterior loss or of bodily injury; 
for the soul is nobler than the body, and to with- 
draw a brother from sin is a more meritorious 
act than to supply bread to the hungry. 



Chapter VI. — Of Prudence. 
As faith holds the first place among the the- 
ological virtues, so also does prudence among the 
moral. For it affects the understanding, whose 
action precedes the operation of the will ; then 
it presides over the duties of the other virtues, 
so as to be their rule, according to which all 
these are directed. But prudence is a virtue of 
the understanding, from whose guidance in any 
business that occurs we know what is lawful, 
what unseemly, what is to be desired, what 
avoided; or, as some more briefly express it, it is 
the right manner of doing things. 



§ 1. — Of the Parts of Prudence. 
1. The subjective parts or species of prudence 
are two, namely: particular prudence, which is 
concerned with one's own individual good; and 
governing prudence, which is concerned with the 
common good of others. This, again, is fourfold : 
economic, by which one rightly governs the f am- 



360 PABT SECOND. 

ily; political-governmental, by which one rightly 
administers the state or realm, to which is an- 
nexed legislative or law-giving prudence, by which 
one enacts suitable laws ; purely political, by 
which subjects rightly dispose themselves con- 
cerning the common good of the realm ; military, 
by which warfare is rightly administered. 

2. The integral parts, which constitute pru- 
dence itself, are those functions of the mind 
without which the use of prudence is not perfect. 
The first of these is the memory of past things, 
for he who by memory will have more deeply 
traced back assemblages of men, armies, cove- 
nants, conditions, origins, dissolutions, griefs, 
joys, manners, judgments, and so many changes 
of kingdoms, shall also be able to make provi- 
sions for the future. For all things, of which 
ancient, mediaeval and modern histories are full, 
are the same, and nothing new under the sun. 
But in histories this is most profitable, that in 
them we find, without labor, what others have 
gathered with toil. There we see the virtues of 
the good, which we may imitate, and the vices 
of the wicked, which we may shun. The second 
is understanding of present things, or the power 
of rightly estimating good, that is set before us 
at the present, by laying the matter bare and ob- 
serving it without the color and coverings w^hich 
are wont to deceive us. The third, docility, ap- 
plication of the mind to receive the admonitions 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 361 

and counsels of others. It is the privilege of God 
alone to need no one, but men ought to use their 
own and others' prudence, especially as everyone 
sees more in another's business than in his own. 
He who takes counsel from himself alone, uses 
a fool for adviser. The fourth, expert n ess in 
devising what conduces to the end. The fifth, 
reason, or a ready faculty of reasoning. The 
sixth, foresight, by which w r e may foresee things 
remotely placed. For the part of a prudent man 
is to discover from a watchtower whatever can 
happen, lest he may sometimes have to utter that 
very foolish saying: I had not thought it. The 
seventh , circumspection , accurate consideration 
of all circumstances, lest any of them vitiate the 
action. The eighth, caution, to which it belongs 
to avoid extrinsic impediments that can obstruct 
good designs, lest in such propinquity of good 
and evil vice may be embraced for virtue. 

3. The potential parts are three: Eubulia, 
good counsel, which is concerned with easily find- 
ing means. Sinesis, that is, penetration in judg- 
ing well of those things defined by some law. 
Gnome, that is, sagacity in giving judgment on 
those things not determined by any law, and 
which nevertheless come into practice, and a 
greater difficulty occurs in these. But these parts 
are called potential, because they are attached to 
prudence as if attendants, so that they have not 
the whole force of the principal virtue. But 



362 PAET SECOND. 

without prudence no one can be truly upright. 
For as with architects no work proceeds rightly 
without line and plummet; so neither with us, in 
the absence of this guiding rule. It has been 
rightly said by some one, that prudence is the art 
of living, as medicine is that of health. Experi- 
ence, the most effectual teacher of things, and 
memory or knowledge of the various things from 
histories and customs produce it. But he is the 
most prudent, to whose mind occurs what maybe 
needed for action; he comes next who obeys 
another giving wholesome advice. He who knows 
not how to judge for himself, nor to comply with 
another, is of the lowest capacity. 



§2. — Of the Acts of Prudence. 
1. The first act of prudence is to take proper 
measures, by enquiring what means and what 
circumstances may be necessary, in order that a 
work may be done with propriety and according 
to virtue. To this part of prudence God adds a 
gift of the Holy Ghost, which is called counsel, 
for those things, which we cannot attain to by 
human reason, which are very numerous, inas- 
much as they are peculiar and contingent; so 
that it has been, therefore, said by the Wiseman 
(ix, 14) : "The thoughts of mortal men are fear- 
ful, and our counsels uncertain." But the first 
rule, which we ought to use for consulting well, 
is the divine law (Ps. cxviii, 24): "And thy 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 363 

justifications my counsel." For whatever is in 
any way contrary to divine law, ought to be out- 
side our deliberation. The second ride is prayer 
to God, to direct us in the right path and teach 
us to do his will. The third, diligent examina- 
tion and meditation of those things regarding 
which counsel is taken.. The fourth, not to 
ascribe much to self, and as the Wiseman says, 
not to rely on one's own prudence. The fifth, 
in graver matters to employ suitable consultors, 
who may be free, faithful and constant, who can 
be forced from good will neither by filthy lucre 
nor by interest of parties. "There is safety, 
where there is much counsel" (Prov. xi, 14). 

2. The second act is, after consultation to 
judge rightly, which of the means found may 
conduce more to obtain the end; and this is 
properly discretion, the mistress of all virtues, 
fixing for all their measure and order, without 
which virtue shall be vice; by which true things 
are distinguished from false, certain from un- 
certain, useful from hurtful, good from bad. 
But though discretion be the gift of God alone, 
yet the holy Fathers lay down certain laws re- 
garding it, which are nearly of this kind: It is 
necessary to gauge the extent of our powers, and 
to enter on a line of conduct in keeping. with 
their measure, for all things do not suit all. 
Lest the spirit of error may sport with our zeal, 
let our "service be reasonable," for "the King's 



364 PART SECOND. 

honor loves judgment." The practice of a good 
work is to be undertaken in such manner, that 
we may not slay the flesh, but its vices. Neces- 
sary refreshment of food and sleep is not to be 
denied the body;, and spiritual exercises them- 
selves are occasionally to be interrupted, that 
they may afterwards be resumed more fervently. 
We must beware, lest deceived by outward ap- 
pearance we may adopt vices for virtues, and be- 
cause discretion is rarely found in men, the virtue 
of obedience ought to supply its place, so that 
we may regulate our life entirely by its direc- 
tion. 

3. The third act is to prescribe and command, 
that what has been determined be performed. 
And this command is a peculiar and principal 
action of prudence ; for even the wicked may be 
strong in counsel and judgment, but true pru- 
dence is found only in the good, who are solic- 
itous and attentive in executing good works. 
Besides, the end of prudence is that the work 
may be done, and if any one rightly deliberate 
and judge, yet move not his will to the work, he 
shall be judged imprudent, because the ultimate 
effect and end of prudence are wanting to him. 
Solicitude, by which we may most promptly per- 
form things commanded by prudence, is there- 
fore necessary ; in which matter this is first to 
be provided for, that we generously remove all 
obstacles interior and exterior. Then the same 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 365 

diligence is to be applied to each individual good 
work that we w^ould use, if our entire salvation de- 
pended on each of them. Finally, we are to strive 
to perform each work with equal fervor, as if it 
were to be the last, and we had to depart from 
life the moment it was finished. 



§3 # _ Qf Election. 

1. Election, the daughter of prudence, is so 
bound up with its works, that without good elec- 
tion there is no prudence, and without prudent 
counsel and right judgment there is no election. 
Therefore, in the syllogism of prudence, as they 
say, the premises are counsel and judgment, but 
the conclusion is the choice of the will, by which 
we wish and desire those things which we have 
learned from certain reason to be serviceable to 
our use. There are two things to be considered 
in the present matter: the ultimate end of man 
and our weakness after the fall of our first par- 
ent. Man has been created for God's greater 
glory and praise; not only that he may know, 
worship and love God, and procure the same to 
be done by others ; but also that he may perfectly 
perform his most holy will, and setting aside all 
private advantage, entirely conform to the wish 
of his maker, regard him alone, and direct all his 
consultation and deliberation to him as to their 
goal; nor may he use end and means in reversed 
order, as some do ; but let him seek the end by 



366 PABT SECOND. 

itself, and for its sake select means that may be 
suited to its attainment. But after the sin of 
our first parent, that power of our soul which 
directs and governs our actions, received a double 
wound, one in the cognition, the other in the will. 
For our mental penetration is so blunted by the 
appearance of perishable things, is so disturbed 
by the tumult of rebellious appetites, that though 
it may generally understand vice is to be shunned, 
virtue to be followed; still, when occasion re- 
quires, it perceives not the gravity of sin, but 
seizes evil itself counterfeited with the mask of 
good; therefore Solomon says (Prov. xiv, 22): 
"They err that work evil." Again, although it 
nlay see what is to be done, what not; may de- 
sire even to correct life, change morals, the will 
is weak, and does not rouse the faculties with 
sufficient authority to perform what reason coun- 
sels. And this is what the Apostle writes (Rom. 
vii, 19) : "The good which I will I do not: but 
the evil which I will not, that I do." 

2. This twofold evil is to be remedied by con- 
trary expedients, and, first, there must be the 
clearest light in the mind, illumined by which it 
may understand, resolve, command what may be 
actually requisite for perfectly obeying the di- 
vine will and acquiring virtues. Then it is neces- 
sary that an efficacious command follow to all 
the faculties, both rational and sensible, and to 
the very members of the body to perform ex- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 367 

actly all those things which prudence has pre- 
scribed. But in this consists the entire election 
of which we speak, that it bring light and 
strength to the mind, and effectually remedy 
that twofold defect. For what does it mean to 
elect? Nothing else assuredly than that a man 
understand, and clearly perceive and decide what 
is to be done or omitted according to virtue and 
the will of God; and then efficaciously will to 
accomplish in deed that same thing which has 
been known and decided on. 

3. Many advantages of election can be gath- 
ered from the foregoing. For it prevents us be- 
ing driven like sheep to anything that offers, and 
causes us to know and propose to ourselves an 
end, and to refer all things to God. It results 
from it that good works, the use of the Sacra- 
ments and other instruments of our salvation are 
of greater merit and efficacy than if we were 
rashly carried after them with thoughtless im- 
pulse. Then we become accustomed to conquer 
ourselves, which is the noblest sort of victory, 
for while nature protests and resists, we set 
bounds to ourselves, and command what we 
judge conformable with the divine glory. Hence, 
too, arise constancy and stability in exercises, 
which we have assumed with previous mature 
consideration ; hence peace, security and tran- 
quility of mind, when we are either certain, or 
probably hope, that whatever we do is not for- 



368 PAET SECOND. 

eign to the desire and will of God; hence the 
rectitude of our actions, which are referred to 
God alone with pure and simple intention. 



§4. — Of the Matter and Manner of Election. 
1. It must be determined first of all, that 
those things, which come under election, ought 
to be of themselves good, or at least not bad, 
and such as to be in keeping with customs of 
orthodox faith. Then the matter subject to 
election either is the fixed and immutable state 
itself of our whole life, as of holy orders or 
matrimony; or is other things, which can be 
changed from time to time. In fine, some of 
the things, which are elected, are uncertain and 
doubtful, regarding which it may be really nec- 
essary to take counsel; others are certain, in 
which consultation has no place. The uncertain 
things are those, which, in a fixed state of life 
already established, concern the reformation and 
proper arrangement of that same state; of which 
sort are exercises, laws and regulations necessary 
to attain perfection in the mode of living adopted. 
The certain things are those, of which there is 
no uncertainty, as to whether they ought to be 
adopted or not, but there is doubt regarding the 
manner only, or they are proposed to the will, 
that it may more effectually either decline or 
follow them. Of this kind are those things, 
which regard the extirpation of bad habits, the 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 369 

moderation of affections, the pursuit of virtues, 
the overcoming of temptations, the regulation 
of the mode of living, and the deportment of the 
exterior and interior man. Concerning those 
things of which immutable choice has been al- 
ready made, nothing remains to be elected; but 
if any one rashly and actuated by a depraved af- 
fection shall have chosen something, which it is 
not lawful to retract, let him compensate the 
loss of election by probity of life and expertness 
of works, by no means shrinking from his pur- 
pose. But if any one shall have chosen some- 
thing that can be changed, there is no reason 
for him to violate such election, if it has been 
duly made; and if he has not acted sincerely, it 
is expedient to rectify it, that more abundant 
fruit may be produced. 

2. The manner of election is twofold. The 
former is, when divine power so impels a man's 
will, that all doubt is removed about following 
that impulse, whether that occur suddenly or' 
after some previous interior motion ; and it is 
certain that happened to the holy Apostles Mat- 
thew and Paul, when they were divinely called, 
and also to Saint Augustin. The latter manner 
is, when a man freely exercises his mental facul- 
ties with a soul void of all disturbance, and tak- 
ing account of the glory of God alone and of his 
own salvation, carefully examines the matter on 
(24— Spir. Life.) 



370 PABT SECOND. 

which he deliberates, with its motives on either 
side; and at length, all things being accurately 
discusesd and prayer devoutly offered to God, re- 
solves what is to be done by him in the given 
case. Moreover, before all consultation on a se- 
rious affair, it will be useful to make a confession 
of sins with great contrition of soul ; then some 
more retired place is to be selected, to which he 
may withdraw, who wishes to determine upon 
anything, with a mind tranquil and disengaged 
from all earthly care, and free from all excite- 
ment. But there is nothing more requisite than 
this tranquility of mind to make a holy choice, 
when for instance the soul agitated by no con- 
tending spirits freely exercises its natural powers. 
3. For either mode of election these rules are 
to be observed : It is necessary that the person 
choosing feel within himself that all affection, 
which he has towards the thing chosen, proceed 
from the view and love of God alone. God's 
clemency is to be implored, that he may deign to 
inform the mind and incline the will to what is 
better. We must lean to neither side, the mind 
being ready without partiality to embrace that 
which we know to be better adapted to the divine 
glory and our own salvation. The benefits and 
aids to salvation, which shall result from under- 
taking such business, are to be weighed, and also 
the losses and inconveniences; and, on the other 
hand, the losses or gains, which may follow from 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 371 

its omission, are to be considered; then it is 
needful to reason on both sides, and to decide the 
choice according to the dictate of prudence. It 
must be considered what each one would coun- 
sel a friend in doubt about such an election, and 
that is to be chosen which would appear to be 
the advice that should be given to another. We 
are to think carefully what a person placed at 
the point of death would do in that case, or 
would wish to have done when standing before 
God's tribunal. Lastly, the election being made, 
we should at once have recourse to prayer, and 
the choice is to be offered to the Lord, that, if it 
please him, he may accept and confirm it. 



§5. — Of the Principles, Occasions and Maries 
of Prudence. 
1. The principles of prudence, from which it 
springs and by which it increases and is pre- 
served^ are several : 1 ) Nature, both by reason 
of synteresis, which is concerned with universal 
practical principles, and by reason of temper- 
ament, which in some is better adapted than in 
others, for consulting and judging, and by reason 
of advanced age, which from long practice has 
great aid towards prudence. 2) Experience, 
which from similar cases teaches to judge in a 
similar or dissimilar manner. To this belong the 
teaching of seniors and examples, of which men- 
tion has been made before. 3) Right and mod- 



372 PAET SECOND. 

erate affection, on which prudence depends as to 
all its acts, but particularly as to mandate; for 
depraved affections cloud the mind, so that it 
cannot perceive truth. 

2. The standard of all virtues is prudence, 
therefore, both the virtues themselves and all 
those things which in any way either invite or 
urge the discharge of acts of any virtue, afford 
an occasion of exercising it. Wherefore, we 
shall not hunt after occasions of prudence better 
than when we shall be circumspectly engaged in 
acts of individual virtues. For it belongs to 
prudence to lay down the measure for human 
actions and fix their limits, beyond or short of 
which rectitude cannot exist. 

3. The first and most peculiar mark of prud- 
ence is solicitude, or a certain rapidity of execut- 
ing what is prescribed by the command of pru- 
dence; for consultation must be slow and long, 
but it is necessary to do speedily and without de- 
lay what has been decided on. The second, the 
utmost vigilance in taking care of one's self, by 
searching out any sins whatever, even the most 
trivial, which otherwise by their smallness almost 
defy the mind's penetration; for he who "de- 
spises small things shall fall by little and little." 
The third, an ingenious care and different de- 
vices in procuring the neighbor's salvation; for 
the more prudent each one is, the more saga- 
cious, acute and industrious does he appear in 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 373 

aiding those who need spiritual help. The 
fourth, actions of all the other virtues, for 
neither is christian prudence perfect if even one 
of the other virtues be wanting. But in partic- 
ular humility, constancy, peace, fraternal charity 
and custody of the tongue are as if judges of 
prudence. For the humble man willingly asks 
and receives counsel; the prudent man is con- 
stant in all his works, has peace and charity 
towards all, and of the tongue's custody it is 
written (Eccl. xx, 7): "A wise man will hold 
his peace till he see opportunity." The fifth 
mark, in fine, is willingly to hear the wise and 
learned, to acquiesce in their sayings, to peruse 
their writings and histories. "If thou love to 
hear thou shalt be wise," says Siracides (Eccl. 
vi, 34). But this is not so much a mark of 
prudence, as a short and most safe abridgment 
for acquiring it. 

Chapter VII. — Of Justice. 

The supreme virtue, justice, born for others, 
not for itself, is wholly from without, and pours 
on to its neighbors whatever it has. This turns 
men away from mutual injuries, constitutes the 
whole earth in peace, hurts nobody, claims not 
what is another's, neglects its own interest that 
it may guard common equity. But justice is the 
constant and perpetual will of assigning to each 
one his right. 



374 PABT SECOND. 

§ 1. — Of the Parts and Actions of Justice. 

1. The integral parts of justice are two, to 
do good and avoid evil. But in this place good 
and evil are understood in a narrow sense, so 
that good is the same as due to another, and evil 
what is injurious or hurtful to another. The 
subject parts are general and particular justice. 
General, which is "also called legal, is that by 
which one acts justly regarding the common 
good of the state; particular, by which one acts 
justly regarding the special good of another. 
This is subdivided into distributive and commu- 
tative. Distributive, which consists in rightly 
apportioning, is twofold: One is called remun- 
erative, which orders honors, magistracies, of- 
fices and benefits to be dispensed according to 
geometrical proportion, considering the dignity 
and merits of each. The other is punitive, 
which commands that offenders be visited with 
punishments, as is befitting. Commutative' is 
that by which one acts justly in his dealings, 
giving to each what is his according to arith- 
metical proportion. The potential parts linked 
and allied to justice are of two kinds : for in cer- 
tain things is seen indeed somewhat due to an- 
other, but that is so great that it cannot be sat- 
isfied to equality ; in others no legal and strict 
obligation is found, but merely some moral debt. 
To the first kind belong religion, penance, piety, 
reverence and obedience; to the second, grati- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 37f> 

tude, vindication, truth, friendship, generosity 
and epikeia or equity. 

2. The Prophet Micheas stimulates us to this 
virtue, saying (vi, 8): "I will shew thee, O 
man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth 
of thee: verily to do judgment and justice, and 
to love mercy." Of the same the Psalmist says : 
"The Lord is just, and hath loved justice; his 
countenance hath beheld righteousness" (x, 8). 
These are the actions of justice: In superiors, to 
have zeal for observance of laws, but moderate; 
for it is a fault to prosecute every fault, and he 
offends who leaves nothing unpunished; also to 
prescribe just things, to reward good works, not 
to be on a level with all, to prefer the profits of 
subjects to their own interests. In subjects, to 
obey the laws and commands, to preserve con- 
cord, to injure nobody, to prefer the common 
good to one's own. In these who distribute 
goods, to observe proportion, to prevent the 
unworthy from dignities, to choose the more 
worthy, to detest ambition. In those to whom 
goods are distributed, to be content with what is 
necessary for them, not to thrust themselves 
forward for offices and dignities, not to oppose 
their election with obstinacy. In all things to 
cause loss to no one by word or deed or counsel, 
not to detract, not to prevent another's good, to 
think well of all men, to give each what is his 
own, to defend all, and advance them in good. 



376 PART SECOND. 

§2. — Of Religion. 

1. Religion holds the first place among the 
moral virtues ; for it is devoted to those things 
which are directly and immediately appointed for 
the divine honor, and it is a sort of justice of the 
creature towards God, by which that same crea- 
ture pays due worship to its Creator and Lord. 
But the excellence of the divine Majesty urges us 
to offer supreme honor to God, since he alone is 
good and powerful; he, "the King of kings and 
Lord of lords : and we, his people, and the sheep 
of his pasture," have been created to worship 
and love him; he, our end, our beatitude and 
supreme good. We have been purchased by him 
at a great price, namely: by the blood of his 
Son, who gave himself for us; he reserved the 
worship of adoration for himself alone, when he 
said (Isai. xlii, 8) : "I will not give my glory to 
another;" in fine, he has promised everlasting 
reward to his worshipers; for he said (1 Kings, 
ii, 30) : "Whosoever shall glorify me, him will I 
glorify; but they that despise me, shall be de- 
spised." 

2. The first and most peculiar action of re- 
ligion is adoration. The highest esteem of the 
divine excellence and majesty precede this in the 
mind, and because these are supreme, immense, 
infinite, incomprehensible and inexplicable, they 
beget this judgment, that the greatest honor and 
reverence are due to God; and hence there exists 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 37? 

in the will an act of man, by which he desires to 
worship God supremely, which is followed by 
submission and subjection of the whole man, in- 
terior and exterior, which is properly adoration. 
The second action joined with the former is the 
praise of God ; for whom we believe supremely 
worshipful on account of his infinite attributes, 
him also it is fit to extol with the highest and 
entirely unique praises. The third action is de- 
votion, the fourth prayer, of which anon. There 
are besides other acts of religion, as acts of vow- 
ing and swearing, use of the Sacraments, exte- 
rior worship and ceremonies, sacrifice, oblations, 
first fruits and tithes, all which appertain to 
divine adoration, by which God alone is wor- 
shiped and his Son's humanity, and, likewise, 
images of God and Christ, his cross, and all that 
recall God and Christ. But we venerate the most 
blessed Virgin Mother of God, the most per- 
fect of creatures, with another inferior worship, 
namely: hyperdulia; and to the rest, angels and 
saints the cult of dulia is given, and their images 
and relics are honored with the same. 

3. There are many occasions in christian life 
of exercising religious actions. Before all, the 
knowledge which we have of the divine Majesty, 
when it is begotten, renewed and repeated in the 
mind, demands adoration and praise of God. And 
how frequently that happens ! How often does 
God of his own accord come to the mind ! How 



378 Pabt second. 

often does he press himself on our recollection ! 
How often by nature's instinct are we led to 
the remembrance, and, as it were, the sight of 
him! How often do his supreme dominion, his 
sanctity and glory, and immense benefits towards 
men occur to the mind ! But all these supply 
rich material for performing interior and ex- 
ternal actions of. religion ; unless, perchance, 
which God forbid, we be of the number of those 
who, "when they knew God, they have not glo- 
rified him as God, . . . but became vain in 
their thoughts" (Rom. i, 21). There are other 
innumerable extrinsic occasions, which arise from 
the public prayers of the church, from sacrifices, 
rites, veneration of images and other functions, 
which I willingly pass over, because they are 
known to all. 

§3. — Of Devotion. 
1. Devotion, the most noble act of religion, 
is nothing else than a certain will of promptly 
giving one's self up to those things which ap- 
pertain to God's worship and service. Its acqui- 
sition is difficult, as well on account of the cor- 
ruption of nature and the various and necessary 
occupations of mortal life ; as on account of bad 
habit, by which we are accustomed with un- 
bridled liberty to run to and fro through various 
kinds of thoughts, and on account of the malice 
of demons, who endeavor to extinguish every 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 379 

sense of devotion in all. Devotion, as it is an 
act of the will, is produced from previous con- 
sideration of God's benefits and of our own 
misery and indigence; for we gather thence, 
that God is most worthy of all worship and.love, 
and that we should adhere to him alone, who can 
help and bless us, according to that of the Psalm- 
ist (cxx, 2) : "My help is from the Lord." 

2. But venial sins, which lessen the fervor 
of charity, impede devotion ; a scrupulous con- 
science, which generates disquiet of heart, and 
darkness and inconstancy and various troubles 
of mind ; bitterness of heart, which is the enemy 
of peace and dries up the source of sweetness; 
external consolations, which dissipate the spirit; 
superfluous cares, which engage and distract the 
mind; unwholesome curiosity of knowing the do- 
ings of others, and things that do not concern 
us ; and, lastly, negligence in guarding the grace 
itself of devotion already possessed, for he is 
rendered unworthy of celestial gifts, who either 
despises them or does not value them, as is be- 
fitting. 

3. The following are the chief stays of devo- 
tion: 1) A fervent and efficacious desire of the 
same; for the beginning of wisdom is the long- 
ing after it. 2) Custody of the heart, as it is 
written (Prov. iv, 23): "With all watchfulness 
keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it." 
3) The continual remembrance of God, accord- 



380 TART SECOND. 

ing to that of the Psalm (lxxvi, 4) : "I remem- 
bered God, and was delighted." 4) Frequent 
use of aspirations, by which, as by wood on the 
altar of the heart, the flame of devotion is kin- 
dled and preserved. 5) Spiritual reading, be- 
cause the word of God is lightsome, enlightening 
the eyes of the understanding and inflaming the 
will, 6) Watchfulness over the exterior senses, 
because death enters through the windows. 7) 
Solitude, for the Lord says (Osee, ii, 14); "I 
will lead her into the wilderness : and I will speak 
to her heart." 8) Continuance and perseverance 
in good exercises, from which the regulation and 
perfection of spiritual life depend. Moreover, 
the symptoms of devotion existing in the soul 
are three: The first is care of the mind and 
mortification of irregular affections ; for we de- 
stroy our carnal desires when we are elevated to 
heavenly things by ardent devotion. The second, 
spiritual gladness of heart and a certain interior 
sweetness of soul, which are wont to be the effect 
of devotion. The third, glowing affection to- 
wards Christ oui Lord and his most sacred pas- 
sion, which is the source of all spiritual goods. 



§ 4 . — Of Prayer . 

1. Prayer is an act of religion, by which we 

worship God and ask blessings from him. Of 

its nature, excellence and necessity I have spoken 

fully elsewhere. Here a few things are to be briefly 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 381 

noted regarding its practice and pursuit for those 
who profess the mixed life. For those who both 
devote their time to their own souls and are en- 
gaged in the welfare of their neighbors, ought so 
attend to the pursuit of prayer, that in the midst 
of numerous and various duties, which they have 
to perform for their neighbors, their mind can 
elevate itself to God and diligently commune with 
him, and draw from him, as from a fountain, all 
that may be necessary for the improvement of 
others. Therefore, prayer of this kind, since by 
its very nature it relates to action, ought to be 
undertaken by them with such intent and en- 
deavor, that through it they may be rendered 
worthy and fit laborers to procure others' salva- 
tion. 

2. It is, also, a duty of those of whom we 
speak, very frequently to elevate the mind to God 
by fervent aspirations, especially in the very 
bustle of their actions. Then their prayer ought 
to be such, that its perfection may be estimated 
not from any external fervor and tears, but from 
conquering and perfectly mortifying self; that 
it be directed to the acquisition of virtues not 
only by consideration and petitioning God for 
them, but also by acts and diligent exercise of 
them; that during meditation reflection be often 
turned to one's self; that it be referred not alone 
to one's own perfection, but to that of others 
likewise; that, in fine, it be not always tied to 



382 PART SECOND. 

the same rule, but that different modes of pray- 
ing be taken up according to each one's ability 
and requirement; but if occasionally exterior oc- 
cupations or other reasonable cause convince that 
mental prayer is to be broken off, then vocal must 
be taken up either in words prepared by some 
one of the Saints, or arranged by one's own in- 
dustry. But in this prayer two things are to be 
observed: one, that it be performed with atten- 
tion, devotion and reverence, as if we were bound 
to it by precept; the other, that these vocal 
prayers be not very numerous, but only as many 
as shall be necessary to excite the affection of 
devotion. 

§5. — Of Penance. 
Penance is a virtue repairing violated divine 
right, inclining man to detestation of sin, with 
an efficacious will of satisfying God offended by 
it. Its actions are these: 1) To detest all sin, 
because through it we offend God, the supreme 
good, and amiable above all things. 2) To con- 
ceive a firm and solid resolution of never more 
sinning, so that with divine grace we may choose 
to endure all bodily diseases, all infamy and con- 
tumely, to bear all the sufferings of the Martyrs 
and death itself, and to subject ourselves to the 
pains of purgatory and of hell rather than to 
consent deliberately to any sin. 3) To bewail 
our negligence, because we have failed to perform 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 383 

many good works, have neglected God's grace 
offered to us, and have locked the door of our 
heart against his frequent inspirations. 4) To 
atone for sins by prayers, fasts, alms-deeds and 
other bodity penances, and by mortification of the 
senses and appetites, and by interior compunction. 
5) To proportion the penalty assumed for sins 
to the guilt, that the severity of the punishment 
may be according to the gravity of the fault ; 
and because the penalty of sin is in this life reme- 
dial, to prescribe suitable correction for every 
sin, so that humility may satisfy for pride, bounty 
for covetousness, corporal austerity for immod- 
esty, as the Scripture says (Luke, iii, 8) : "Bring 
forth . . . fruits worthy of penance." 6) 
Lastly, to abstain from things lawful and per- 
mitted, since we have been guilty of unlawful 
things, and to deem ourselves unworthy the re- 
creations of the innocent. Very much has been 
said before regarding this virtue (Part I, Chap. 
I, §§2 and 3), which it is unnecessary to repeat 
here. 

§6. — Of Piety and Reverence. 
1. Piety is a virtue, by which we show proper 
regard and duty to country, parents, brethren, 
and others allied to us by blood ; but by the name 
of regard we understand honor and respect ; by 
the name of duty, service, assistance and pro- 
tection. Reverence is kindred to piety, for by it, 



384 PABT SECOND. 

as if by a second piety, we revere and regard our 
superiors in age, or wisdom, or honor, or dignity 
of any kind. But piety is innate to us, and not 
alone to us, but well-nigh to the brutes them- 
selves, to which though nature denies reason, yet 
it denies not the emotion of piety. Besides, 
a great reward is proposed to pious children, 
namely: longevity and earthly happiness (Deut. 
v, 16) : "Honor thy father and mother, . 
that thou mayst live a long time, and it may be 
well with thee in the land." But the Scripture 
commands regarding reverence (Kom. xiii, 1): 
"Let every soul be subject to higher powers." 
Likewise (Levit. xix, 32): "Eise up before the 
hoary head, and honor the person of the aged 
man." And (1 Tim. v, 17): "Let the priests 
that rule well, be esteemed worthy of double 
honor." 

2. The actions of piety are of this sort: 1) 
To hold our parents in due esteem, and not to 
blush for their lot, if it be low. 2) To honor 
them by words and external marks of veneration, 
and to refrain from everything that can justly 
afflict them. 3) If they be indigent to supply 
them temporal helps, to defend them from all 
clanger, and to relieve them in every necessity. 
4) To bear patiently inconveniences caused by 
them, injuries inflicted, and the vices of old age. 
To discharge all these duties likewise in their 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 385 

own way, as occasion may require, to children, 
brethren, and other relatives, and to the country 
that bore and nurtured us. Sedulously to man- 
ifest the same piety to spiritual parents, who 
have begotten us in Christ. To despise and 
totally disregard country, parents, brethren and 
kindred, if they impel us against the law of God, 
or keep us back from the pursuit of perfection ; 
and entirely to ignore those we discover to be 
adversaries in the way of God. For the Lord 
says (Luke, xiv, 26): "If any man come to me, 
and hate not his father and mother, ... he 
cannot be my disciple." 

3. The actions of reverence: 1) To revere 
elders and seniors from the heart, to rise to them 
when they arrive, and to show them all signs of 
honor and respect according to the custom of the 
country. 2) To observe silence in their pres- 
ence or to speak modestly, to embrace their opin- 
ions and good doctrine, though they themselves 
may livo and act otherwise. 3) In no way to 
upbraid them if they offend, but to entreat them 
as fathers, and kindly admonish them. 4) To 
treat priests with due veneration as angels of the 
visible church, and w T hen they teach the truth, 
not to look to their life, but to their doctrine, 
for of them it is written (Ps, lxxxi, 6) : "I have 
said: you are Gods." 
£25— Spir. Life.) 



386 PABT SECOND. 

§7. — Of Obedience. 
1. Obedience is a virtue, which renders a 
man's private will prompt to perform the orders 
and precepts of superiors, because they are com- 
manded. But though there are various kinds of 
superiors, namely, God, parents and men consti- 
tuted in dignity, still obedience is not on that 
account of different species, because it views 
every superior under the relation exclusively of 
commanding. Many motives urge us to acquire 
this virtue: 1) For it is of great merit before 
God, because man can offer him nothing greater 
than his own will, subjecting it for his sake to 
the will of another, and therefore obedience is 
said to be better than victims, because through 
it self-will is immolated. 2) Obedience is, be- 
sides, a safe and straight road to virtue, for even 
indifferent things themselves, such as to walk 
and sleep, by reason of obedience acquire the 
character of virtue. 3) It assures victory over 
demons, for (Prov. xxi, 28): "The obedient 
man shall speak of victory." 4) Through it we 
are perfectly subjected to the divine providence 
in our regard, and are proximately disposed for 
union with God, for we will the same that God 
wills, and we will not that which he wills not. 
5) Finally, Christ our Savior commends us this 
among other virtues, who becoming obedient 
unto death, lest he might lose obedience, lost his 
life. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 387 

2. The actions of obedience: 1) To obey 
quickly, manfully, humbly and incessantly, and 
to submit the mind's free discretion to the will 
of him commanding. 2) Cheerfully to under- 
take things commanded, which are contrary to 
our will and inclination. 3) To be submissive to 
superiors, "not only to the good and gentle, but 
also to the fro ward/' although the thing com- 
manded may seem to be hard, difficult, contrary 
to reason and beyond our powers. 4) Toobeynot 
only the highest superiors, but even the lowest and 
the mean, who have received power from them. 
5) To conform to a superior's will, although he 
may give no command, and to follow his good 
pleasure in all things. 6) To show one's self 
indifferent towards all things, to regulate nothing 
of one's self, to long for nothing, except what 
superiors may wish. 7) To be more willingly 
occupied with the more difficult affairs, and ta 
embrace more eagerly those which are less bril- 
liant before men. 8) In every act of obedience 
to unite the interior affection of the will and 
the agreement of the judgment with the exterior 
work, and that with love and eagerness of mind, 
and with spiritual joy, so that our obedience may 
be entire, unimpeded, swift, humble, strong, 
blind, unfeigned, without excuses, hesitations or 
murmurs, constant and persevering. 

3. This is the foundation, source, and, as it 
were, root of perfect obedience, that a superior 



388 PABT SECOND. 

be to us in the place of God; and that we really 
believe that in our very soul and interior under- 
standing, adding this interior affection to exterior 
observance, and receiving him as the vice-gerent 
and interpreter of God, so that in him we may 
love, reverence and hear Christ our Lord, and 
may entirely subject to him as to Christ our 
whole will, simply obeying in all things that are 
not incompatible with the divine law, without 
seeking any cause or motive of commands. But 
the occasions of obeying are reduced to two : 
The first is a superior's express command, the 
second an intimation of his consent and will. 
Lastly, the indications of perfect obedience are 
to obey with love; to obey for obedience's sake, 
not because the thing commanded is of itself 
welcome and agreeable to us; to obey simply, 
for he who has learned perfectly to obey knows 
not how to judge; not to defer, not to procras- 
tinate, but to execute commands promptly and . 
quickly; to perform hard, difficult, repugnant 
orders with the same alacrity, the same disposi- 
tion and joy as if they were easy, agreeable and 
delightful. 

§8. — Of Gratitude. 

1. Gratitude is a virtue, which regards a debt 

sprung from a benefit received, and in order to 

satisfy it in some manner, repays something to 

the benefactor, such as thanks, regard, service or 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 889 

other favor. Accordingly, it extends to all from 
whom we have received any favor, namely, to 
God, parents, superiors and private men. As far 
as it regards God, it is not distinguished from 
religion; as far as parents and superiors, it is 
identical with piety and reverence; and if it.be 
taken in relation to a private benefactor, it is 
then a special virtue regarding a moral debt aris- 
ing from a benefit. But we are urged by the 
guidance of nature itself to exhibit a grateful 
feeling to him who has benefited us, for even 
the very wild beasts feel favors, nor is there any 
animal so untamed, that care may not assuage 
and win over to love of one's self. Then grat- 
itude prepares us to receive greater benefits; for 
as all hate and shun the thankless, so they vie to 
load with benefits him who is grateful. 

2. The duties and actions of gratitude are 
five: The first is esteem of a benefit, that is, 
showing that we value it, if not from the magni- 
tude of the favor, at least from the affection and 
intention of the donor. The second a kind ac- 
ceptance, for he who refuses seems to despise 
or make light of the benefit and affection of the 
giver. Third, thanks, that is, a good-natured 
acknowledgment of the favor received with a 
certain self-submission and humbling towards 
the benefactor himself. Fourth, grateful men- 
tion of the benefit before others, with praise of 
the benefactor and a feeling of love towards him. 



390 PABT SECOND. 

Fifth, requiting of the benefit at least by defei> 
ence and good will, if we cannot in reality. 

3. Gratitude towards God is a magnifying of 
God's gifts in the soul, with annihilation of self 
and due reverence of heart. But thanks are to 
be offered to God for all the goods bestowed as 
well on ourselves as on others, and that shall be 
done in this manner: First, the benefit is to be 
called to mind and divided as if into parts and 
members, that it may more attract the will. 
Then, it is to be confessed that God is author of 
the benefit, and this is to be rejoiced at exceed- 
ingly. We must likewise rejoice, that we have 
received that benefit for the glory and manifesta- 
tion of the divine goodness. But the giver of 
goods himself is to be praised and blessed, and 
creatures invited to return him thanks. After 
these a reply is to be given to the benefit, which 
shall be done, if we offer that same for the glory 
of God; if, too, we offer for his honor all the 
services and affections of the just, all the praise 
of the celestial country, all the charity and 
purity of Christ's humanity and of his mother, 
and all the perfections of God himself. Finally, 
we must resolve, that we shall serve him for his 
own sake alone in requital of so great a benefit, 
asking something in keeping with the favor, for 
which we wish to be grateful, as well for our- 
selves as for every degree of the militant church. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 391 

§9. — Of Truth, Simplicity and Fidelity. 

1. Truth is properly conformity of the judg- 
ment to the thing judged, of the sign to the 
thing signified; but in this place it is taken 
for the virtue which procures that truth be in 
speech, writing, gestures and other signs, at least 
according to our conscience, or as we know it, so 
that tongue and mind — external signs and interior 
conscience — may be in conformity and agree- 
ment. This same virtue, in as far as it excludes 
duplicity and hypocrisy, is called simplicity, by 
which one shows himself exteriorly such as he is 
interiorly. But truth or simplicity is of so great 
excellence, that God is said to be truth, and to 
converse with the simple. 

2. These are the actions of those virtues : 1) 
To avoid all simulation and falsehood with the 
tongue and detest it in the heart. 2) In conver- 
sation to shun ambiguities and subterfuges of 
words, and express things simply as they are. 
3) To exhibit ourselves by words and deeds such 
as we really are, and not to feign holiness and 
perfection, which we have not. 4) Sincerely 
and candidly to confess our defects, when occa- 
sion shall require, and to deal with brethren with- 
out deception and guile, and without fraud and 
duplicity. 5) To join prudence to the good of 
simplicity according to that of Matthew (x, 16) : 
"Be ye . ; . wise as serpents and simple as 
doves;" that with simplicity we may not lose the 



392 PABT SECOND. 

circumspection of prudence. 6) When anything 
is to be absolutely affirmed or denied, to inquire 
the truth of the thing; for he is not truthful 
who is in doubt, and yet absolutely affirms or 
denies something. 7) To use great caution, lest 
through the fault of a hasty tongue, or of a sud- 
den motion, anything may be said or signified 
against the judgment of the mind. 

3. The first mark of these same virtues is 
what Solomon says (Prov. xiv, 16): "The inno- 
cent believeth every word." For from his own 
disposition he judges others, and because he has 
truth for a friend, he thinks that no one lies. 
2) Again, other marks are: simply to express a 
thing as it is, neither enlarging, nor exaggerat- 
ing or speaking figuratively. 3) So to detest 
falsehood with interior affection, that neither for 
the interest of a friend, nor to avoid any incon- 
venience whatever, nor for the salvation of the 
whole world, one, even the slightest, lie be know- 
ingly uttered. 4) To hate the world, which is 
wholly made up of lies, frauds, deceits, knavery, 
treachery, cunning and malice; and because the 
just man's simplicity is mocked, to arm one's 
self against the scoffs of worldlings, and to bear 
their insults not only patiently, but cheerfully; 
for (Prov. x, 9): "He that walketh sincerely, 
walketh confidently." 5) Openly and simply to 
confess a sin committed, not to excuse one's self, 
not to shift the blame on another. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 393 

4. Allied to truth is the virtue of fidelity, 
which inclines man to perform whatever work is 
promised; for that a promise may be true, it is 
necessary to perform the things promised. Its 
acts are: 1) To fulfill promises, unless a just 
cause intervene of not complying with them or 
of changing them to better. 2) To keep faith 
pledged even to enemies. 3) Not to reveal se- 
crets committed to our trust. 4) Faithfully 
and according to the mind's thinking to give 
good and profitable counsels to those who seek 
them. 5) To refuse promised help to none. 6) 
Not to abandon a friend in adversity. 7) To 
serve our masters faithfully, and to administer 
their affairs without fraud. But this virtue is 
most commended in friends (Eccl. vi, 15): 
"Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend;" 
in messengers or deputies (Prov. xiii, 17) : "A 
faithful ambassador is health;" in servants 
(Matt, xxv, 23): "Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant;" in dispensers and stewards (1 
Cor. iv, 2) : "Here now it is required among the 
dispensers, that a man be found faithful." 



§10. — Of Friendship and Courteousness. 
1. Friendship is the mutual good-will of two 
persons founded in virtue, and joined to a com- 
munication of goods. Courteousness is a sort of 
friendship consisting in words, gesture and ac- 
tion of the person, by which a man observes 



394 PABT SECOND. 

proper demeanor with those among whom he 
lives and has intercourse. The former is interior, 
and has its seat in the affection ; the latter is ex- 
terior and in sight of men, and properly apper- 
tains to intimacy existing between us and others. 
The former is not a virtue, but either acquires 
virtue or is entered into for its sake; the latter 
is a virtue, directing a man in common inter- 
course, as well by words as by deeds to adapt 
himself fitly to the nature of men. But friend- 
ship is threefold: carnal, mundane, spiritual; 
agreement of vices produces the first; the hope 
of gain inflames the second ; a likeness of life, 
morals and pursuits among the good cherishes 
the third. The two first are bad, the last good; 
those are to be avoided, this to be embraced. 
Helps to foster friendship are : abiding together, 
conversations, letters, thinking and speaking 
alike, and being led by the common pursuit of 
virtue. Disagreement of sentiments and opin- 
ions, suspicion, insult, reproach, pride, disclos- 
ure of a secret, concealed detraction, anger, in- 
stability, loquacity, too great affection towards 
external things, on account of which we dispute, 
love of other than true good; lastly, personal 
familiarity with one individual from an unlawful 
motive, to the exclusion and contempt of others 
— ail these dissolve friendship. 

2. Friendship cannot be true, unless reciprocal 
love intervene; still, to love is more significant 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 395 

than to be loved, and therefore good-will is 
placed for the foundation of friendship, return 
of love being signified as associated with it. But 
spiritual friendship is a certain likeness of our 
celestial county, in which the angels and saints 
mutually love one another, and most sweetly and 
pleasantly associate. Christ by his own exam- 
ple taught and approved this, for he called his 
disciples friends (John, xv, 15): "Because all 
things," he says, "whatsoever I have heard of 
my Father, I have made known to you." And 
what more consoling than to have a friend with 
whom you may venture to speak as to yourself, 
to whom you do not fear to acknowledge if you 
have failed in anything; to whom you entrust 
your heart's secrets and commend your counsels? 
"Wo to him that is alone: for when he falleth, 
he hath none to lift him up" (Eccl. iv, 10). 
But there are four things which ought to be 
proved in a friend, before we cement true friend- 
ship with him : Reliance, that we may safely 
entrust ourselves and our concerns to him ; In- 
tention, that the friendship may have a lawful 
end; Discretion, that we may know what we 
have to furnish to him, what is to be sought 
from him ; Patience, that the mind may be ready 
to endure every adversity for a friend. It is ex- 
pedient to judge, afterwards to love; to love be- 
fore you choose is a preposterous course. Fi- 
nally, friendship is to be formed with no one 



396 PABT /SECOND. 

without having first ascertained how he has 
treated former friends ; for we shall expect him 
to be such to us as he has shown himself to the 
rest. That popular axiom is very true: That 
many bushels of salt must be eaten together, in 
order that the function of friendship may be 
perfect. 

3. Actions of friendship and courteousness: 
To choose either perfect friends, from whose in- 
tercourse we may profit, or zealous ones, whom 
we may benefit. To love friends not for any 
advantage, or for agreeableness of conversation, 
but for the virtues shining in them. Friendship, 
which looks to personal advantage, is not friend- 
ship, but business ; nor shall he be ever a true 
friend, who fixes his end in exterior things. 
Patiently to hear, dissemble, correct the defects 
of friends, as reason shall direct. To aid friends 
with good counsels, to entrust our secrets to 
them, to take advice from them. Chiefly to 
sustain them in time of adversity, and to assist 
them in every necessity. To have the same 
sentiments in liking and disliking, and if judg- 
ments sometimes differ, never to be separated in 
will. Mutually to defend one another in case of 
absence, reciprocally to protect each other's rep- 
utation and to ask nothing unjust from them. 
To observe decorum in mutual conversation, and 
to shun all drollery. To love a friend, though 
he may have offended us, to provide for his fame 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 397 



and welfare, and not to publish his secrets, 
though he may have betrayed ours. To show 
ourselves courteous, kind and gentle to all; and 
to become all things to all men, that we may gain 
all to Christ. In fine, so to temper friendship, 
that it may not gradually degenerate into sensual- 
ity , that it may not injure spiritual progress and of- 
fend others. But the marks of spiritual friend- 
ship are: To love a friend in the Lord, and to 
wish nothing for his sake that may be opposed 
to God; not to seek one's own advantage, but 
the divine pleasure and the neighbor's good, and 
to dispense equal charity to all. 



§11. — Of Some General Directions Appertaining 
to Friendship and Courteousness. 
1. Since virtue consists in a medium, above 
all we ought to beware, lest we contract too 
great familiarity and immoderate friendship with 
any one. For from this very many evils usually 
arise — scandals, cringing flatteries, dissembling 
of vices, useless conversations, waste of time, 
remembrance of the beloved friend alone, but 
forgetfulness of God, frivolities, vanities, de- 
tractions, and at length carnal desires and a 
lamentable end. In society and intercourse of 
men modesty and silence are to be observed ; for 
it is culpable to wish rather to be known than 
to know; to be appreciated, rather than to ap- 
praise others; uselessly to squander one's own 



398 PABT SECOND. 

wares, rather than to acquire those of others. 
It becomes an upright man to hear much, and 
speak little. Pleasant, indeed, is conversation be- 
tween spiritual friends, but only in case the sub- 
ject of colloquy be the same, as the cause of 
love. But because in conversations many talk 
much and utter things puerile, false, silly and 
nothing to the purpose, that is to be prudently 
dissembled, neither are those speaking thus to 
be corrected, nor are signs of displeasure to be 
manifested ; for it would be too hard and bur- 
densome to chafe at all that displeases us. We 
must also be chary in speaking of ourselves and 
our concerns, our knowledge is to be modestly 
suppressed, from all that is said something is to 
be gathered for our own benefit. We must 
never obstinately adhere to our own judgment 
and opinion, however true; we must never argue 
with our superiors and seniors; and we must re- 
frain from imperious speech, which savors of 
authority and dictation. 

2. If we are ever asked to give an opinion on 
any controverted subject, it behooves us to be 
mindful of modesty, and, therefore, such expres- 
sions as these are to be used: I should say so, 
the matter would seem to me to be defined thus. 
When we hear anything unusual, unexpected, 
which is at variance with the common usage of 
our country, it is not to be censured at once; for 
to wonder and laugh at these is proof of a friv- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 399 

olous mind, which knows not that things and cus- 
toms vary according to diversity of regions. But 
when something contrary to propriety happens 
to us, entering into ourselves we ought to ask 
ourselves whether we, too, labor under a similar 
vice. We shall show an open brow and kind 
countenance to all, but the mind shall lie open to 
those only, to whom it shall seem proper by the 
dictate of prudence to unfold it. It is, likewise, 
expedient to become accustomed to harsh words, 
coarse manners, the excessive freedom of some, 
and all these are to be liberally tolerated; for it 
is evidence of a mean and wholly puerile or effem- 
inate mind, to wish to mix only with men who 
may yield, applaud and flatter. All things are 
to be valued as they really are in themselves, 
not according to our own tastes or error of the 
populace. The common people highly value 
things on account of novelty, rarity, difficulty, 
skill, rumor, pomp and exterior show; the sage 
regards the intrinsic worth and utility of a thing, 
the rest are nothing. 

3. When reason dictates that a friend is to be 
corrected, that no doubt shall have to be done in 
using these precautions. And, first, we must be- 
ware, lest we may seem to correct as persons in- 
jured in any business of ours; for language, that 
one uses for his own purpose, is believed to pro- 
ceed not from good will, but from anger; neither 
is it received by way of admonition, but of conn 



400 PABT SECOND. 

plaint. Next, it is necessary to refrain from 
laughter, affronts, scoffs, and from all bitterness 
of words. Omitting an opportunity, too, as in 
other things, is injurious, since it mars the use- 
fulness of correction. Besides these we must be- 
ware not to use freedom towards ourselves in 
presence of many, for that excites anger and 
pain. It will be a very suitable manner also of 
reproving, if we confess that we, too, are in the 
same fault which we lay to the culprit's charge. 
In fine, the very correction is to be tempered with 
gentle words. 

§12. — Of Generosity, Vindication and Epikeia. 
1. Generosity is a sort, of mixed virtue hav- 
ing a twofold tendency: one to moderate the 
passions concerning riches, the other to expend 
riches for one's own utility and that of others. 
Lawful receiving also regards this virtue, as when 
one receives as much as he ought and whence he 
ought to receive, and when he receives without 
immoderate cupidity, and that he may have where- 
with honorably to show bounty to others. But 
munificence is viewed chiefly on account of its 
generosity, because it is more noble to give than 
to receive. Generosity is kindred to justice, not 
in as far as it moderates the passions, nor in as 
far as it is concerned about riches in order to 
private advantage, but in as far as it relates to 
another, expending wealth for others' benefit and 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 401 

bestowing gifts. By this virtue we imitate God, 
who "giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraid- 
eth not ; and maketh his sun to rise upon the good 
and the bad." Its actions are: With a feeling 
of joy to expend moneys and other temporal goods 
for one's own requirement, for God's honor 
and the interest of neighbors. To benefit others 
with spiritual goods, if temporal be wanting, and 
with a generous will. To supply helps even to 
the unwilling, the absent and those unconscious 
of them. To lament as lost that day, in which 
we have not been in some way useful to our 
neighbors. The indications of perfect generos- 
ity are chiefly two : One is, readily to forget a 
favor done, or at least not to mention it. The 
other, not only to despoil one's self for God's 
sake of the fruits of one's property, but even of 
the property itself; for this virtue remains en- 
tire in readiness and promptitude of mind, nor 
can there be any greater generosity than to have 
retained nothing for self in imitation of Christ. 
2. Vindication is a virtue, by which we law- 
fully avenge injuries with the intention of re- 
moving wrongs. But in vindication the spirit or 
intention of the vindicator, which can be mani- 
fold, is to be considered. For, firstly, a man 
can desire and inflict punishment with the inten- 
tion that it may be ill with him by whom he has 
been injured, having regard to nothing besides, 
(26— Spir, Life.) 



402 PABT SECOND. 

and in this way it is an act of hatred and a 
sin against charity. Secondly, that he may 
be amended, and thus it is an act of charity. 
Thirdly, because it is proper of itself, that an 
evil-doer be punished, and that some reparation 
and satisfaction of the injury be made; and from 
this point of view it is an act of a special virtue, 
by which we are moved to pay a malefactor the 
punishment due for his injury, as we are moved 
by gratitude to repay a benefactor the service due 
for his kindness. Fourthly, that he who in- 
flicted the injury and others by his example may 
be restrained from wrong in future; and this is 
an extrinsic act belonging to legal justice. Vin- 
dication therefore, to be a virtue, ought to pro- 
ceed from the third motive and be done in a 
suitable manner, that is, not by private, but by 
public authority; for the act and performance of 
this virtue belong to the superior; wherefore, a 
private person cannot of himself perform an act 
of punishment, but only ought to procure that 
it be done by the public authority. But vindi- 
cation differs from punitive justice, because, 
though each has to do with punishment, the for- 
mer nevertheless regards retribution of evil pre- 
cisely as removing the w T rongof injury done; and 
the latter as procuring equality and compensating 
evil caused to another. But here it must be ob- 
served, that it is much better to forgive for God's 
sake, than to require punishment, unless the 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 403 

motive of common good demand otherwise. For 
an act of this virtue can scarcely be so purely 
exercised, as not to have self-love attached; but 
in forgiving injury there is an act of most ex- 
cellent charity, there is imitation of Christ, edi- 
fication of the neighbor, peace of mind, victory 
over self, and sometimes, too, the gain of the 
transgressor's soul. But if reason require that 
we exact punishment, in so far that the wicked 
may be repressed and others may have fear, that 
shall be in offences against God, rather than in 
our own. 

3. Epikeia, which in Latin we call equity, is 
a virtue, which in rendering what is just, and in 
actions of any virtue whatever, regarding which 
a law has been enacted, regards as its rule not 
the law, but the legislator's intention, or if you 
will, the law itself, not as it sounds in words, but 
according to the mind and intention of the legis- 
lator. Wherefore, it is wont to be called amend- 
ment and interpretation of the law. For a case 
may happen in which to act after the words of 
the law would be to act amiss ; as when the law 
commands that a deposit be restored, if a man in 
a rage demand his sword, which he had depos- 
ited with a friend, this virtue counsels that the 
words of the law are not to be obeyed, and that 
the deposit is to be refused to its owner seeking 
it amiss. Therefore, there is room for equity in 
particular cases, for which the law could not pro- 



404 PABT SECOND. 

vide; for legislators in enacting laws are wont to 
attend only to those things which for the most 
part happen. 

Chapter VIII. — Of Fortitude. 
Fortitude, the third cardinal virtue, has for 
its object to remove certain obstacles to right ac- 
tion arising from the dangers and evils of this life, 
lest on their account we may depart from upright- 
ness and virtue. Accordingly it is a virtue of 
the soul, affecting the will and irascible appetite, 
by which we firmly meet and endure labors and 
dangers of death. Its functions are two : one, 
and that the principal, to bear and suffer toils 
and dangers ; and the other to approach and un- 
dertake the same dangers and toils when it is 
expedient. It has no subjective parts, for it is 
employed about very special matter. The in- 
tegral and potential parts are magnanimity or 
confidence, to which security, also, is referred; 
highmindedness follows, then patience, to which 
longanimity and equanimity have relation; lastly, 
perseverance, to which is joined constancy. But 
these virtues are called integral, if they deal with 
the dangers of death; they are called potential, 
if they appertain to other matters. 



§1. — Of the Actions, Occasions and Marks of 
Fortitude. 
1. The actions of fortitude are of this nature : 
1) To undergo the perils of death and death 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 405 

itself with a joyful spirit for God's sake; and 
under this head comes martyrdom, which is the 
principal act of christian fortitude. 2) To ap- 
proach with alacrity any other dangers whatever 
for God's glory and our neighbors' salvation, any 
business whatever, though difficult and arduous, 
and not to faint or grow tired in them, but to 
persevere till they be completed. 3) Not only 
to bear manfully, but even firmly to surmount 
every infirmity, grief, exile, destitution, imprison- 
ment, bereavement, rejection, infamy, sorrow and 
others of like nature. 4) To bear others' vices 
with magnanimity. 5) Not to be downcast, 
though many obstacles may impede good works. 
6) Not to be turned aside from rectitude by 
threats or entreaties, though great and powerful 
men may have to'be resisted. 7) Not to be af- 
frighted by adversity, nor overcome by pros- 
perity, and to struggle with happiness itself, lest 
it overthrow us by its allurements. 8) To pre- 
serve tranquility of mind in all reverses and 
troubles, and to be above all accidents, that can 
happen. To foresee all things, and to have the 
mind prepared and fortified to endure all. 

2. The occasions of exercising fortitude are 
either external or internal; all know the external, 
namely, evils present or imminent. The internal 
are reduced to two heads; for as fortitude con- 
sists in moderating fear and courage, dread sup- 
plies some occasions of this virtue, and courage 



406 Paet second. 

others. But it is the prerogative of a brave soul 
neither to fall into evil by fearing amiss, nor to 
depart from duty in keeping with reason by ven- 
turing rashly. But in this matter it will be most 
serviceable to us sometimes to imagine terrors 
and dangers that may impend, and so prepare 
ourselves, as if we were already face to face with 
these very dangers and were placed in peril, that, 
roused by such consideration, as a prelude, we 
may school ourselves for all forbearance and en- 
durance of evils. The marks of fortitude are: 
1) To treat the passions as slaves, and to rule 
and moderate them at will. 2) To be united 
with God by charity; for he who adheres to God 
is unconquered, 3) Firmly to bear unlooked 
for and sudden evils, because in sudden things we 
are thrown out of our usual custom. 4) To do 
nothing by fraud or guile, and to employ virtue 
alone. 5) To long for martyrdom for Christ's 
sake and to desire occasions of it. 



§2. — Of Magnanimity, to Which Are Annexed 
Confidence and Security. 
1. Magnanimity, or greatness of soul, is a 
virtue elevating the mind against difficulties 
springing up in the practice of virtue, and inclin- 
ing it to great and heroic works in every species 
of virtues. For the soul, which aspires to great 
things, and esteems and desires these only, is 
called great. But there is nothing truly great in 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 407 

human affairs, except virtue, which alone is 
man's good and dignity. Wherefore the Philos- 
opher, who says that magnanimity turns upon 
honor, is to be corrected ; for he who is truly 
magnanimous despises honor itself, which, how- 
ever, accompanies virtue, as delectation does the 
taking of food. And, therefore, a magnanimous 
man is eager indeed to do those things which 
are worthy of high honor, but he strives not after 
the honor itself though denied him, and despises 
it if offered him. Confidence and security ap- 
pertain to this virtue. Confidence, because a 
man cannot nobly undertake, unless he be con- 
fident that he can perform much, and feel that 
he has strength, and that the divine aid is with 
him for the accomplishment of arduous affairs ; 
and security, because even confidence begets se- 
curity, and whoever is bent on things eternal 
alone with contempt of those of earth, lays aside 
fear and anxiety, and trusting in divine mercy 
enjoys great tranquility of soul, and securely and 
promptly undertakes works of virtue. 

2. We are prompted to magnanimity by the 
greatness of the end, for which we have been 
created, by the greatness of the reward promised 
to great works, and by the consideration of our 
own dignity. Its actions are these: 1) To per- 
form great works, that may be worthy of great 
honor, not for the honor of this world, but on 
account of their own excellence, by reason of 



408 PABT SECOND. 

which they are worthy of honor. 2) To long 
after the highest degree in every class of morti- 
fication and virtue, and with God's grace to dis- 
play its most excellent actions. 3) Courageously 
to despise men, though adorned with the highest 
dignity, and their promises and threats, if they 
instigate to anything contrary to virtue. 4) 
Bravely to surmount impediments and obstacles, 
which oppose splendid actions of virtues. 5) 
After extraordinary works of virtues to strive 
after still greater, and after having acquired in- 
timacy with God to aspire to closer union. 6) 
Neither to wish for nor shun more than is proper 
dignities and worldly honors, but to act moder- 
ately in these, and to undertake them for the 
sole honor and glory of God, and for the guerdon 
of obedience to covet only eternal glory. 7) 
Not to deem anything of great value, except what 
is truly great, and consequently not to be much 
concerned about successful or adverse issues of 
temporal affairs. 

3. The Philosopher in his Ethics enumerates 
at length the marks, morals and conditions of a 
magnanimous man, which are nearly as follows: 
To judge one's self deserving of great honor, 
that is, considering the office one bears, or the 
gifts of God, with which he is adorned, with 
which, however, supreme humility before God is 
compatible, while he considers, that of himself 
he has nothing of good, can do nothing, and is 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 409 

nothing. Thus, the saints in heaven are both 
most humble, and yet from a different view of 
themselves wish to be honored by men. To com- 
port one's self moderately in prosperity and ad- 
versity. To face great dangers, when occasion 
requires. To compensate a favor received from 
man with a greater favor. To solicit no one, or 
scarcely any one. Willingly to take pains with 
and serve another. To show one's self great and 
dignified with leading and wealthy men, by not 
flattering them, nor allowing one's liberty to be 
suppressed by their authority ; to be modest and 
temperate with the humble and weak. Not to 
intrude in the more honorable places and func- 
tions; for this is the spirit of an ambitious, 
rather than of a magnanimous man. To spend 
time in those things which it is necessary to un- 
dertake, and to perform not many, but great 
things. To hate without disguise, and love with- 
out disguise, things deserving of hatred or love. 
To say and do openly and freely what are to be 
said and done. To use dissimulation towards the 
populace; for the magnanimous man seeks not 
the rabble's praises. Not to endure living at 
another's beck, unless it be that of a superior 
and friend. Not easily to admire, for to the 
magnanimous there is nothing great in human 
affairs. Not to remember injuries. Not to be 
querulous or supplicating in what must of neces- 
sity be borne. To prefer the possession of law- 



410 PABT SECOND. 

ful to useful things, for this is more befitting a 
man content with himself. To have a slow pace, 
grave voice, firm and calm speech ; because he 
who is intent on few things is not wont to be in 
a hurry, nor does he to whom nothing seems 
great make vehement efforts. 



§3. — Of Magnificence. 

1. Magnificence is a virtue, by which, for 
God's honor, we make great expenses, and pour 
out a large quantity of money in great and useful 
works. It differs from magnanimity, because 
this latter intends greatness in the action of vir- 
tue; but the former intends greatness in the ex- 
ternal work, in as far as it is a work of art, or 
something else suited to human uses requiring 
great expenses, as in building churches, colleges, 
monasteries, and places of piety, in the display 
of a public banquet, when reason demands. Some 
reckon magnificence among the virtues akin to 
justice, for in as far as it regards another, that 
is the state and family, for the adornment of 
which the great expenses are incurred, it resem- 
bles justice; but in as far as it is concerned with 
the passions encouraging the mind, lest it be de- 
terred from splendid works by the difficulty of 
expenses, it bears a resemblance with fortitude. 

2. The primary action of this virtue is, when 
reason requires, to effect great things, for which 
there is need of great cost; next, for this end to 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 411 

temper the affection for abundant wealth required 
for that purpose, lest on its account a man may 
not dare to undertake the work, or may forsake 
it when begun, or may not complete it with 
splendor. To leave all things for God, and by 
casting away all riches to soar to the pinnacle of 
religious perfection, likewise regard magnificence. 
Then all that generosity affords in moderate and 
ordinary costs, magnificence effects in great and 
extraordinary expenses. 



§4. — Of Patience, and Longanimity and Equa- 
nimity Allied Therewith. 
1. Patience is a virtue by which we endure 
the evils of this world with even temper, so that 
on their account we are neither immoderately 
troubled or dejected within, nor without permit 
anything less upright or less becoming. But the 
evils of this life, which patience endures, are dis- 
eases, exiles, mental anguishes, poverty, dis- 
graces, mockeries, insults, injuries, calumnies, 
reproaches, hunger, thirst, cold, deaths of par- 
ents, children, relatives and friends, public dis- 
asters and calamities, and others of the same sort, 
which are wont to happen daily. Longanimity is 
a part of patience, strengthening the mind against 
trouble which is felt from the delay of a thing 
expected. It differs from patience in this, that 
it endures evils for a long time, and waits for 
consolation deferred during many days, months 



412 PABT SECOND. 

and years. Thus, God is said to be long-suffering, 
because he endures our delays and evasions, 
while he invites us to repentance. Equanimity, 
too, is not a distinct virtue from patience, 
although it may be thought to be specially en- 
gaged in moderating that grievance which springs 
from the loss of exterior goods. 

2. The proximate matter, with which patience 
is occupied, is affliction and sadness of the mind, 
on account of the evils we have enumerated above, 
which this virtue either wholly suppresses, or so far 
moderates, that they may not exceed the limit of 
right reason. Accordingly the principal actions 
of patience are: 1) To endure all the before 
mentioned evils camly, willingly, gladly and with 
thanksgiving, and without any murmuring or 
complaint whatever. 2) To bear these evils even 
without fault, although they may be inflicted on 
us by those who have received many favors at our 
hands. 3) To attribute to the divine will alone 
all our miseries, from whomsoever they may 
originate. 4) In all things that vex and harass 
us, to turn to Jesus crucified as if present, to beg 
patience of him, to offer him all that we suffer. 
5) Daily, at early morning, to offer one's self 
to God for suffering all things, and to excite a 
strong desire in the soul of enduring all evils in 
imitation of Christ. But we have many occasions 
of practicing patience almost every moment in 
bearing with ills and losses, which happen con- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 413 

cerning the goods of character, life and things 
external. 

3. The marks of patience are : to bear others' 
imperfections with a calm spirit; to be guarded 
from hatred in the midst of affronts from one's 
neighbor; not to murmur under God's chastise- 
ments ; not to shun the intercourse of those who 
cause one evils, but to seek them, to love them 
and to pray for them ; to beg of God to increase 
suffering in every ailment; to be silent in the 
midst of misfortunes, not to excuse one's self, to 
commit all to God after the example of our Lord, 
who, even when challenged to speak in his own 
defence, preferred to keep silence. But who may 
not endeavor carefully to practice this virtue, 
considering the patience and long-suffering of 
God, who not only indulgently tolerates sinners, 
but even ceases not to load them with the great- 
est favors? Were not the life and most bitter 
passion of Christ likewise a perfect pattern of 
patience? There are also examples of the Saints 
as well of the old as of the new law, especially 
of Job and Tobias, and of countless martyrs. 
But if a man attentively consider the indescribable 
punishments of hell, which he has so often es- 
caped through God's infinite mercy, will he not 
count for nothing and as it were class as delights 
the grievances of this life, however severe and 
bitter? Finally, as the Apostle says(Heb.x,36) : 
"Patience is necessary for you;" for it fortifies 



414 PABT SECOND. 

faith, governspeace, assists love, teaches humility, 
excites repentance, atones for sins, bridles the 
tongue, tames the flesh, protects the spirit, per- 
fects all virtue, and after this life bestows on us 
a blessed immortality; "for that which is at 
present momentary and light of our tribulation, 
worketh for us ... an eternal weight of 
glory" (2 Cor. iv, 17). 



§5. — Of Constancy and Perseverance. 
1. Constancy agrees with perseverance in the 
matter of its end, which is firmly to persist in 
good to the very close ; they differ as to those 
things which raise a difficulty to perseverance in 
good. For perseverance strengthens the mind 
against trouble, or difficulty, which arises from 
the prolongation of an act; but constancy over- 
comes difficulty proceeding from a certain natural 
mutability and from extrinsic impediments. But 
perseverance is twofold : one which is not a vir- 
tue, but a special gift of God, consisting in the 
continuance of justice and grace until death, of 
which we have not here to treat. The other is a 
virtue, which is usually thus described: A fixed 
and perpetual abiding in a well-considered course ; 
and it is a part of fortitude having its seat in the 
irascible appetite, moderating the dread of fa- 
tigue or failure of strength, to which an action 
of virtue can be liable, when it is protracted for 
a long period. This virtue is the crown and con- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 415 

summation of all virtues, the nurse for merit, 
the mediatrix for reward, the bond of perfection, 
the bulwark of sanctity. Without it all labor 
undergone in any virtue is void of due reward. 
In fine, "He that shall persevere unto the end, 
he shall be saved" (Matt, x, 22). 

2. Three adversaries war against this virtue: 
The first is the devil, who goes about seeking 
whom he may devour, of whom the Wiseman says 
(Eccl. x, 4): "If the spirit of him that hath 
power ascend upon thee, leave not thy place." 
For as the enemy could not prevent us making a 
beginning of good, he strives with all his might 
to cause us not to persevere therein. The second 
is the length itself of time, which inspires a vain 
dread of the durability of one's powers and of 
perseverance itself on account of virtue's sever- 
ity, which he who is exercised therein presents and 
fancies to himself. This temptation is nearly that 
of beginners, and can be driven away in laying 
aside the false notion, which alarms us, as well by 
a firm hope of divine assistance, as by the exam- 
ples of many, who, clothed with the same infirmity 
as we, persevered to the end in the pursuit of vir- 
tue. The third adversary is the world, which 
frightens us for the most part with its masks and 
terrifies us by pictures of evils ; but if we order 
the world to put off the mask, we shall clearly 
see that all it objects is puerile, all it promises 
false and uncertain. 



416 PART SECOND. 

3. The actions of perseverance are these: 1; 
To endure and overcome the labor of virtue aris- 
ing from length of time. 2) To remain stead- 
fast in the pursuit of virtue, every difficulty not- 
withstanding. 3) Not to be parted from recti- 
tude either by love of life, or fear of death, or 
by threats or promises. 4) Frequently to con- 
sider carefully the frightful ruin of certain per- 
sons, who by a single act of inconstancy basely 
flung away whatever of virtue they had gath- 
ered during many years. 5) Constantly to hold 
the rank and office in which obedience has placed 
us. 6) Never to change our state and manner 
of life handed down by our predecessors. 7) 
Never to grow lukewarm in the desire of pro- 
gressing. And an indication of a soul persever- 
ing in the practice of virtue is the continual de- 
sire of increasing it, and the resolution of ad- 
vancing daily more and more. But the occasions 
of exercising this virtue are many, on account of 
the numerous difficulties which confront those 
running in the way of perfection. 



Chapter IX. — Or Temperance. 
The fourth and last cardinal virtue is temper- 
ance, which has been given to bridle the con- 
cupiscible appetite and resides in the same; and 
is a virtue moderating those passions, that are 
concerned with corporal delights according to the 
sense of taste and touch in the use of food and 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 417 

drink, and of what appertains to procreation. 
The pleasures themselves, which are derived from 
taste and touch, are its material object, its formal, 
their conformity with the dictate of right reason. 
By this virtue we differ from the brutes and are 
rendered like to angels; by it we check carnal 
vices, restrain fleeting pleasures, kindle holy de- 
sires, regulate the entire man and prepare within 
us an abode and mansion for the divine Word. 



§1. — Of the Parts and Action of Temperance. 
1. The integral parts of temperance are two : 
shame and decency; for the entire office of tem- 
perance is made up of two parts : aversion from 
the turpitude of intemperance and love of the 
beauty of temperance; shame aids to the first, 
decency to the second. Its subjective parts are 
four: abstinence, sobriety, chastity and purity; 
the two former of which fix a medium in those 
pleasures in all that are derived from taste, the 
two latter in all that are derived from touch. 
Lastly, the virtues allied to temperance, or its 
potential parts, are many, which themselves re- 
tain, regarding secondary matters, that measure 
which temperance observes in bridling cupidity 
touching the greatest and chief pleasures. Thus 
continence checks movements of the will goaded 
on by the assault of passion; meekness, to which 
plemency is allied, restrains motions of anger 
£27— Spir. Life.) 



418 PABT SECOND. 

tending to revenge; modesty regulates external 
motions and words, the care, also, of the body 
and all exterior pomp; eutrapelia (facetiousness) 
tempers ludicrous and jocose movements ; studi- 
ousness governs eagerness for knowledge; hu- 
mility represses the desire of excellence. 

2. The sole action and rule of temperance is, 
in partaking of bodily pleasures to have nothing 
else than necessity for a standard, and to do 
nothing for the sake of delight alone. There- 
fore, as far as concerns touch, one must refrain 
from all delectation thereof outside wedlock ; 
but in wedlock the good of offspring only is to 
be regarded. But as far as concerns taste, health 
of body is to be regarded, because of the func- 
tions of the mind ; nor is the intention of a higher 
end to be neglected, namely, maceration of the 
flesh for the satisfaction of sins and the imita- 
tion of Christ. Furthermore, the external marks 
of temperance are modesty, gravity of manners, 
wary speech, silence, vigils and works of penance. 
But the interior mark is control of the thoughts, 
and of temptation of the flesh, which is dis- 
covered when these, thoftgh they may spring up 
from time to time, nevertheless infect not the 
mind. 

§2. — Of Shame and Decency. 
1. Shame is a habit inclining to horror and 
dread of that turpitude which is chiefly per- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 419 

ceived in works of intemperance. It is called a 
virtue in its wider sense, for it is properly a pas- 
sion and a species of fear; but since it shuns 
disgrace, it also causes us to avoid things de- 
serving of disgrace, such as are especially sins of 
intemperance, and in this manner it disposes to 
virtue. Its actions are: to dread all turpitude; 
to be ashamed of those things that are repugnant 
to purity; when a man is tempted to sin, to re- 
flect on the dishonor which follows thence be- 
fore God and men ; to have a sense of shame for 
transgressions, that thus we may be more stim- 
ulated to good, saying with the Prophet (Ps. 
xliii, 16) : "All the day long my shame is before 
me : and the confusion of my face hath covered 
me;" not only before others, but even when one 
is alone, to be restrained from every unlawful 
act by holy modesty; to revere the presence of 
God and of the holy Angels, and to respect one's 
self. It likewise belongs to shame to put away 
all vicious bashfulness, and when a man blushes 
for good works, fearing by them to displease 
men ; or when shame is felt for things that are 
not sins. But the holy Fathers commend that 
blush, which suffuses the countenance of modest 
youths when they enter an assembly of seniors, 
or are about to perform anything publicly ; for 
that hue is an indication of virtue and mark of a 
well-trained mind. 



420 PABT SECOND. 

2. Decency is a habit inclining to love of that 
becoming or special beauty which shines forth 
in acts of temperance. But though decency, in 
its wider signification, is usually taken for the 
morality which every virtue possesses, and for 
the conformity of an action with right reason, 
here, nevertheless, it is specially taken for con- 
ceivable beauty and a certain charm or comeli- 
ness, which appear most in works of temperance, 
inasmuch as they exclude depraved desires and 
brutal pleasures, which are most shameful for 
man, and, above all things, disgrace and stain 
him. It is, therefore, the act of decency to pre- 
serve interior beauty of soul unstained, and never 
to depart from what is proper and becoming in 
all that appertains to bodily pleasures. 



§3. — Of Abstinence and Sobriety. 
1. Abstinence is a virtue bridling inordinate 
desires and gratifications of esculents, and estab- 
lishing due moderation in their use. But these 
can be inordinate, either because they draw to 
what is unlawful, as to the eating of prohibited 
food, or in an improper place or time; or be- 
cause they lead to excess, or to an unbecoming 
manner, or because they are too vehement and 
troublesome, not permitting a man to think of 
anything but of his food and stomach. The vir- 
tue of abstinence then removes and cuts off all 
these. But in the use itself, that is due modera- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 421 

tion which agrees with health and mental func- 
tions, so that we may take nutriment as we take 
medicines; although it may be expedient some- 
times to abstain more than suits health, in order 
that the flesh may be chastised and subjected to 
the spirit, proyided the health be not so im- 
paired that the mind be made less fit for its 
functions ; for a good condition of bod} 7 is that 
which best seryes the mind, because the body 
ought to serye the soul, and is given on account 
of the soul's operations. 

2. The chief act of abstinence is fasting, sig- 
nifying a greater frugality of food than the com- 
mon rule of temperance demands. Three things 
are required for it: abstinence from a certain 
kind of food, a single meal and a certain hour 
to sup. But there are two yices to be avoided by 
those fasting and abstaining: impatience and 
pride. Impatience, because abstinence dries up 
the body, inflames its humors, and makes a man 
full of bile. And pride, because fasters and ab- 
stainers are wont to be highly admired by men. 

3. Sobriety is a virtue, by which we properly 
regulate the love and use of drink calculated to 
intoxicate. For the proper matter of this virtue 
is all intoxicating drink; excess in other drinks 
militates against abstinence. But it is the action 
of sobriety to use inebriating drink in such meas- 
ure that it may in no way hurt, or dim the clear- 
ness of the judgment, and not impede the mental 



422 PABT SECOND. 

functions. Much has been said before, when we 
treated of the vice of gluttony, regarding the 
acts of these virtues. 



§4. — Of Chastity, Virginity and Purity. 

1. What we would have to say here of chas- 
tity has already been disposed of, when we wrote 
of the vice contrary to it. But chastity is a vir- 
tue, by which the body is preserved from defile- 
ment of carnal concupiscence, and the mind is 
kept clean from all impure desire. It is twofold : 
Perfect, which proposes to refrain in perpetuity 
from all carnal pleasures, as well lawful as unlaw- 
ful; imperfect, which decides to abstain from 
unlawful and to use lawful with moderation. 

2. Virginity is perfect chastity and a firm and 
fixed resolution of perpetual incorruption in cor- 
ruptible flesh. That does not consist in integrity 
of the flesh, with which we are born, and which 
we can involuntarily lose; but in the purpose and 
will of perpetually preserving that integrity and 
purity. But this virtue ought to be obtained 
from God with most earnest prayers, and very 
carefully guarded ; for its loss is irreparable, and 
once lost it is never recovered. 

3. Purity (or modesty) is a virtue, by which 
we restrain the look, mouth and hands, lest they 
aim at something unbecoming or less proper, that 
may hurt chastity. For as chastity is concerned 
with carnal union, so is purity with looks, kisses 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 423 

and touches. Its most powerful safeguard is 
self-reverence, to take one's conscience and eyes 
for a thousand witnesses, and to act as circum- 
spectly without beholders, as if we were exposed 
to the eyes of all. 

§5. — Of Continence, Meekness and Clemency. 

1. Continence can be taken in two ways: 
Firstly, that it may mean a certain virtue, by 
which a man refrains from all lascivious pleasure ; 
and thus it does not differ from chastity ; secondly, 
to signify constancy of soul against onslaughts 
of the passions, and it is thus understood in this 
place, and is a firm resolution of mind, by which 
a man keeps himself in the good of reason in 
opposition to the transports of concupiscence, 
by which he is impelled to pleasures of touch. 

2. Meekness is a virtue which moderates 
anger. Its sole action then is to mitigate the 
violence of anger. Occasions of cultivating it 
are numerous ; but none are found more season- 
able than injuries. For these give occasion to 
the meek to become meeker, and to the irritable 
to forsake anger and assume meekness. Many 
things concerning this virtue are to be found in 
the foregoing part, where we have treated of 
anger. 

3. Clemency is a virtue allied to meekness, 
whose office is to forgive, or mitigate exterior 
punishment and penalty due to offenders, as far 



424 PABT SECOND. 

as the principle of justice permits. It differs 
from meekness, because meekness moderates an- 
ger, and this punishment; that is suited to sub- 
jects and superiors, this chiefly appertains to 
rulers and prelates. Wherefore, clemency is said 
to be temperance of spirit in the power of aveng- 
ing, or leniency of a superior towards an inferior 
in determining penalties. But there are three 
things which are required for this virtue: 1) 
Power of punishing. 2) That a milder penalty 
be imposed than can be lawfully inflicted: 3) 
That it proceed from lenity of soul, not from 
fear or friendship, or lucre, or any other motive 
whatever. In some cases, however, it is more 
judicious to employ severity than clemency. Be- 
sides, severity is an unyielding rigor of spirit, 
remitting nothing of the merited or appointed 
penalty. This is to be employed in military serv- 
ice 9 the discipline of which cannot be maintained 
without rigor; when popular temperament is ill- 
disposed and unruly, and cannot be otherwise 
held in duty; when crime has been committed 
from pure malice; and when that i3 judged more 
expedient for the offender's amendment, or for 
the public benefit. 

§6. — Of Modesty , Eutrapelia and jStudiousness. 

1. He is wont to be called modest, who keeps 

himself within the mode and limits of his state, 

abilitv and fortune, content with his small means. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 425 

Hence modesty is a virtue by which a man loves 
and presents this mediocrity in himself, confin- 
ing his movements internal and external, and the 
entire style of his affairs within the measure 
adapted to him. But there are four species of 
modesty. The first is modesty of exterior move- 
ments, which proceeds from interior gravity of 
morals, and preserves grace in gait, standing, 
sitting, motion of the head, contraction and com- 
posure of the features, movement of the limbs, 
voice, laughter and look; and that in keeping 
with the person as well with regard to self as to 
those with whom or in whose presence an act is 
performed; taking into account also the place, 
time, business and other circumstances. The 
second is modesty of exterior equipment, which 
consists in care of the body, raiment and furni- 
ture, in decoration and style of house and ban- 
quets; all which this virtue regulates according 
to the requirement of things and persons. We 
described the acts of this former modesty above, 
when treating of the regulation and mortification 
of the exterior man. 

2. To the first species of modesty belongs 
eutrapelia, which sets the limit of reason to 
sports and jests and relaxations of mind ; for 
some rest must be given the spirits, that they 
may rise up more eager for labor after lawful 
recreation. But relaxation of mind is contained 
in various actions. The first is walking in a 



426 PABT SECOND. 

pleasant and open place, as in a suburban re- 
treat; next, the sight of rural beauty, some rus- 
tic labor in that retreat calculated to relieve the 
mind; the chirping and singing of birds and 
playing with them; fowling also, and hunting 
and fishing ; pleasant and lighter studies ; musi- 
cal concert and any becoming pastime; harmless 
jests and pleasantries free from all injury, ob- 
scenity, illiberality, irrelevancy and indecency 
under the circumstances. 

3. The third is studiousness, by which we re- 
press the inordinate desire of knowing, and in- 
flame the mind, careless and negligent in learn- 
ing things necessary, to a reasonable study of the 
sciences. These are the actions of this virtue: 

1) To moderate the greed of knowledge, that we 
may not wish to know more or higher things 
than may accord with our position and ability, 
nor set more value on science than on conscience. 

2) To moderate the zeal and effort themselves 
of the mind in acquiring knowledge, that is, to 
study with that diligence we should, for that end 
we should, those things we should, also in the 
times and places in which it is expedient, 3) 
Not alone to restrain, but likewise to stimulate 
the inclination for study, when one is averse to 
study requisite for him, or deals with it in alaz}^ 
manner. The fourth is humility, of which pres- 
' rtly in particular. 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAT, 427 

§7. — Of Humility. 

1. Humility is a virtue, by which man with 
the knowledge of his vileness and condition, 
deeming himself the meanest of all things and 
undeserving any good or favor, eagerly embraces 
self-contempt, and rejoices to appear and be 
looked on as vile, and to be engaged in humble 
affairs and occupations. And though this virtue 
be interior, residing in the will, yet there is, too, 
a certain exterior humility consisting in external 
words and signs, and we are to strive for the 
perfection of both with God's help. But the 
holy Fathers further distinguish a twofold hu- 
mility: one of the judgment, the other of the af- 
fection. The former is imperfect, the latter 
perfect, and by the one we ought to advance and 
attain to the other. That is called humility of 
the judgment, by which a man, beholding him- 
self by the light of truth, acknowledges his vile- 
ness and humbles himself before God; yet he 
does not wish to be held mean, or to be despised, 
but rather to be thought highly of and to be 
honored by others. But humility of the affection 
is that by which a man wishes to be deemed 
such by others as he knows himself before God. 

2. This virtue ought to be placed as the base 
and foundation, which is to support all our goods, 
whether natural or human, or whether they be 
divinely received ; for whatever is built up in the 
spiritual edifice without humility, that shall be 



428 PABT SECOND. 

neither solid nor permanent, but shall quickly 
fall. From this, as from the root, vital sap ought 
to be diffused through the entire tree and branches 
of our operations, so that all our actions may be 
nourished and strengthened by it, those espe- 
cially, which appear wonderful to the common 
people, and more prone to vain elation of spirit, 
such as those which regard science and the 
manifestation of virtue. After the theological 
and intellectual virtues this holds the primacy 
among the rest, for it removes pride, which is 
the impediment of all virtues. This renders us 
agreeable to God, because his conversation is 
with the humble. In this consists the sum of 
the whole christian doctrine, and it is the pe- 
culiar virtue of christians, unknown to the an- 
cient philosophers, the source and origin of all 
goods. "For God resists the proud, and gives 
his grace to the humble." By this we imitate 
Christ our Lord, who from the very moment of 
his incarnation till the last breath of his life al- 
ways practiced and taught humility, and there- 
fore did he say (Matt, xi, 29): "Learn of me, 
because I am meek and humble of heart." 

3. In fine, this virtue, though it may seem 
by its very name to denote something mean 
and small, is nevertheless the virtue of the great, 
since it is the virtue of the perfect, and does not 
lower the mind to base things, but raises it to 
those that are more noble; for while it attributes 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 429 

nothing to itself, it is wholly turned to God, be- 
lieving it can do all things in him, by whom it is 
strengthened. Therefore, it is brave and mag- 
nanimous, always remaining under the same ruler ; 
it undertakes splendid things without danger of 
pride, and arduous without fear of difficulty. 
Through evil report and good report it perseveres 
firm and unconquered, not considering the exter- 
nal appearance of things, which it undertakes to 
manage, but measuring and weighing all things 
by charity, not clinging to one more than to 
another, except in as far as the right order of 
charity prescribes. Noble and splendid itself, it 
deals with everything most abject, and confers 
dignity on vile things, while it embraces them 
with a lofty spirit and for the most noble end of 
God's glory. 

§8. — Of Knowledge of Self Which Is the 
Foundation of Humility. 

1. That celebrated maxim: Know thyself, is 
said to have come down from heaven ; for knowl- 
edge of self is, as it were, the first step of the 
spiritual life, the commencement and foundation 
of humility, the most profitable science of all, the 
beginning of salvation, the source of all goods, 
the extermination of all evils. But to acquire 
this knowledge, we must consider that we have 
been made from clay, and that clay has been cre- 
ated from nothing, But what is nothing? The 



430 PABT SECOND. 

privation of everything. This is our origin, this 
our illustrious descent! And when by God's 
favor we begin to be, we are also nothing of our- 
selves; and if God at any moment should cease 
to protect and conserve us, w 7 e would immedi- 
ately fall back into our nothingness. To this 
nonentity of our nature must be added the noth- 
ingness and deformity of original sin, which 
stained our souls from the beginning, and ren- 
dered us guilty of eternal damnation ; and if the 
blood of our most merciful Eedeemer had not 
cleansed us from it, we would still remain fast in 
the same misery and turpitude, hapless for all 
eternity. But when we arrived at years of dis- 
cretion, when reason and piety would have re- 
quired us to turn to our Creator and reverence 
him as our Lord, and return thanks to the same 
for benefits received, we with perverse disposition 
turning to all else returned injuries and sins in- 
stead of clevotedness ; so that it w 7 as not owing 
to us, that we did not in a manner strip God of 
divinity and life, and again crucify Christ our 
Lord, for which enormity of crimes no hells are 
sufficient; and yet such was the abundance of 
God's mercy, that he deigned to awake and con- 
vert us to himself by a greater favor than that 
by which he bestowed on us existence and life, 
and by a greater miracle than that by which he 
created the world itself. At the very time when 
we, heaping up guilt, ceased not to provoke the 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAT. 431 

divine patience, that most indulgent parent, in 
need of no one, the King of kings and Lord of 
lords called us into his admirable light ; and we, 
ungrateful that we are, serve him not, as is just, 
and if we do any good works, we defile them with 
many stains and blemishes. 

2. But what is man, that the Lord can be 
mindful of him? What, I ask, is man? If we 
look to his body, he is a fleeting shadow, wither- 
ing grass, a lump of clay, a foul sewer, a se- 
pulchre full of corruption, of very brief and un- 
certain life, an unclean animal exposed to the 
mockery of innumerable evils. What was man? 
A thing so unseemly, that it can be neither written 
nor mentioned without a blush. What shall he 
be? Eottenness, the food of worms, earth and 
ashes, loathsomeness and horror. And as re- 
gards his soul, man is prone to all evils, slothful 
and tardy for everything good; from every side 
he is agitated by furious movements of vices and 
disorders, of a feeling so perverse and depraved, 
that while perceiving and making much of tran- 
sitory and earthly losses, he is dull and insensible 
to those that are spiritual. He is led from vanity 
to vanity, and while all things are subject to 
vanity, still of man, above the rest, it is written 
(Ps. xxxviii, 6) : "All things are vanity, every 
man living." Such then being the case, we ought 
to feel regarding ourselves as regarding a most 
loathsome corpse, from which men avert the 



432 PABT SECOND. 

face, lest they be defiled by its hideous sight and 
most noisome stench. We ought also to deem 
ourselves unworthy of any consolation whatso- 
ever, of any honor, of any service and use of 
creatures, and most deserving of every misfor- 
tune, of every punishment and contempt. 



§9. Of Self-knowledge , Through Comparison 
of Other Things. 
1. Knowledge of self can be gained in a two- 
fold manner: First, by considering one's self 
absolutely and alone; secondly, by comparison 
with other things. This second method is easier 
and is most comprehensive. A man can compare 
himself first of all with the elements and other 
things devoid of reason, arguing thus with him- 
self : Behold the heavens, behold the constella- 
tions, they observe most steadily their course 
once received from God; in me nothing is reg- 
ular and certain; nay, I derange and pervert all 
divine and human laws. The sun diffuses his 
light all around, I am enveloped and delight in 
the darkness of sins. The planets never cease to 
transmit their force in continual streams to this 
lower world of ours ; I ever lie in the worst list- 
lessness and most guilty indolence. Fire, the 
most active element, warms, foments and burns 
everything that comes in its way ; I, in the midst 
of so many flames of divine benefits, am be- 
numbed with intense cold ? and inactively grow 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 433 

torpid. Air is to us a faithful and attentive serv- 
ant for breathing; I suppress and reject heavenly 
inspirations, and ever resist the grace of the holy 
Spirit, lest it work many favors in me. Water 
washes and cleanses filth; I infect all by the 
foulness of my morals and examples. How fruit- 
ful is the earth, how many and various are its 
products for our nourishment? But what good 
ever came from me ? I am a useless burden upon 
earth, most unfitted for everything except mis- 
deeds; I am a most loathsome ulcer, that is 
always full of the most shocking putridity. Plants 
perpetually grow, and are renewed with leaves 
and fruits ; I remain ever fixed in the same con- 
dition, and never increase a whit. Flowers re- 
fresh with beauty and with sweetness of scent; 
but my face has been blackened over coals, and 
a baneful stench of vices exhales from me. Dumb 
sheep and other brutes are subservient to the 
will and needs of men ; I am useless to the world, 
a traitor and rebel to God. 

2. Another comparison ought to be made 
with creatures endowed with reason and percep- 
tion: I in the midst of men, who make use of 
reason, follow sense rather than reason, like the 
horse and mule, that have no understanding. 
Christians eagerly strive after the poverty and 
humility of Christ; I, a Christian in mere name, 
obey the world, not Christ. The Jews only once 
(28-Spir. Life.) 



434 PABT SECOND. 

dragged Christ to the cross, how often have I 
done so ? Are not heathens and other unbelievers 
more exact and diligent in their superstitions 
than I in the worship of the true God? Are not 
abandoned and wicked men more ardently de- 
voted to riches and pleasures of the world than 
I am to spiritual goods? But how many are 
consigned to everlasting punishments in hell for 
lighter and fewer sins than I have committed? 
I surpass the demons themselves in variety and 
multitude of sins ; for I have often by my own 
malice and bad habits even induced and provoked 
these same to tempt me. 

3. There is no reason for instituting a com- 
parison with things which are above us, namely, 
with the Angels and with God. For compared 
with these we are as nothing, and if anything 
could be found worse than nothing. Accord- 
ingly, passing over these we shall think truly that 
we are the worst of all criminals, inasmuch as 
there could be none, who would not turn to better 
account than we so many gifts of God, so many 
and great helps to living uprightly, in which we 
abound. Nay, the smallest of the graces God has 
bestowed on us would be sufficient for the con- 
version of even the most desperate thief. Finally, 
we shall be ashamed to lift our eyes to heaven, 
for in that the highest order is observed, in us is 
the greatest confusion. There shines the bright- 
est light, in us are the gloomy shades of vices 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 435 

and the darkness of night. There are the An- 
gels, who guard us ; the Saints, who pray for us ; 
there reigns the glorious Virgin, our Advocate; 
there Christ, our Redeemer; the guardianship, 
protection, merits and innumerable benefits of 
all whom we, most ungrateful and insensate, have 
despised, trampled on and abused. 



§10. — Of Actions of Humility. 
These are the actions of humility: 1) Most 
truly to avow and to know that all our gifts, as 
well natural as supernatural, are from another, 
and that of ourselves we have nothing but sin ; 
for our actions so depend on God that without 
him we can, I will not say do nothing at all, but 
not even think. 2) To despise and think little 
of one's self, and in every concern, no matter 
how trivial, to thoroughly distrust self and place 
all reliance in God alone. 3) To deem one's 
self unworthy of all God's gifts, and unsuited 
for everything; and that will be done without 
any false pretence, because we are really such ac- 
cording to what we have of ourselves. 4) Not 
to wish to be highly esteemed or praised by 
others, for that is not fitting for us, but for him, 
from whom we have received every good ; where- 
fore, we should refer all praise and honor to God, 
and altogether shrink from them, considering 
how remote we are from the merit of praise, and 
how shameful it is for a thing so very vile to 



436 PABT SECOND. 

have a mark of distinction. 5) To desire, as 
far as lies in us, that others may despise us and 
think us vile; for a truly humble man wishes 
himself to be judged and reckoned by others, 
such as he knows himself to be by the verdict of 
truth and in the eyes of God, that is most ab- 
ject, indolent and of no account, 6) Willingly 
to expose one's own defects, unless the rank of 
the person, nature of office and neighbor's ed- 
ification forbid it. 7) When one sees that he is 
made much of, or honored, not to allow that 
honor, nor intentionally to attract it to himself, 
except, perhaps, on account of the office and 
charge which he bears, and then to refer it to 
God. 8) To consider one's self according „to 
those qualities which he has of his own, but 
others according to those which they have from 
God ; and thus, in comparing himself with others, 
to think himself viler and worse than all. For 
this is the disposition of humility for a man to 
look to his evils in himself, in others to their 
goods; and in this way each, even the most per- 
fect man, may, without any lie, deem himself in- 
ferior to the most imperfect whomsoever. 9) 
To subject one's self to God, as a slave to his 
master, or as tempered clay to the potter, that 
he may dispose of us both in this life and in the 
next according to his good pleasure ; to be sub- 
ject for God's sake to men also, particularly to 
superiors, and to allow one's self to be governed 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 437 

by them as God's instruments. 10) To reckon 
one's self in the sight of God as a dead and 
stinking dog, which all fly and shudder at; and 
so, when an occasion of any contempt, vexation 
and injury occurs, to embrace it with the utmost 
alacrity, and to thank God that he treats us as 
we deserve. 11) In external affairs and employ- 
ments always to choose that which is the meaner 
and worse, believing that nothing is so vile as 
not to be far better than our vileness deserves. 
But these in affection and determination of the 
will only; for in effect and exterior practice the 
limit of propriety and dignity must be adhered to. 



§11. Of Occasions of Exercising Humility. 
1. Whereas we are all sinners and need the 
grace of God, the first occasion of humility will 
be our state itself and condition, by reason of 
which, returning to ourselves with the prodigal 
son, we shall say to the I ather of mercies (Luke, 
xv, 18): "Father, I have sinned against heaven, 
and before thee: I am not now worthy to be 
called thy son." But if , by a pious conjecture, 
we judge that we are friends of God through 
grace, what have we that we have not received? 
and if we have received, why do we glory as if 
we had not received? and here is a second occa- 
sion of humility in every good work, in every 
action of virtue; for God worketh in us (Philip, 



438 PABT SECOND. 

ii, 13): "both to will and to accomplish ;" and 
(John, xv, 5): "Without me," he says, "you 
can do nothing." The third occasion proceeds 
from consideration of our own frailty, from com- 
parison of our evils with the goods of others, 
from meditation of the divine favors and of our 
own unworthiness. Injuries, annoyances, crosses 
and all those things that count towards our con- 
tempt and degradation, afford a fourth; for after 
the example of Christ we ought to bear all these 
patiently, and even feel under obligations to those 
who plot against our life or reputation. 

2. But for the acquisition of this virtue, I 
think it likely to be of great advantage to elicit 
daily some internal acts of it, and to assign these 
for certain hours, that they may never be 
omitted. Religious, who discharge the canonical 
hours each day, may thus attend to this exercise : 
Before or after the night office, they shall elicit 
an act of self-knowledge ; at the hour of prime 
an act of desire, by which they may wish to be 
despised and reputed as nothing; at the hour of 
tierce they shall wonder that all creatures do not 
drive them from their midst, on account of the 
innumerable sins with which they abound; at the 
hour of sext they shall consider all others better 
than themselves, and shall resolve to put them- 
selves under the feet of all ; at the hour of none 
they shall determine to preserve humility in 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAT. 439 

speech and gait, and to be silent about themselves 
and conceal their good qualities ; at the time of 
refection they shall confess that they are most 
unworthy to eat the bread of others, and to share 
their goods and fellowship; at the vesper hour 
they shall fancy themselves to be annoyed by 
various calumnies and injuries, and that false 
crimes are attributed to them, and they shall ex- 
cite themselves to bear all these with joy; final- 
ly, at the hour of complin they shall propose to 
fly all praises of men, all honors and dignities, 
submitting themselves to the divine pleasure in 
all things. 

§12-. — Of the Signs and Effects of Humility. 
1. Many marks and effects of humility are 
enumerated by the holy Fathers, all whose teach- 
ing the most blessed Father Benedict has col- 
lected in his rule, where he treats of this virtue; 
for he counts twelve degrees of it, which every- 
where belong to the essence itself of humility, 
everywhere to its signs and effects. Fear of the 
Lord proceeding from the innermost reverence, 
which a truly humble man has for God, holds 
the first place. This shuts out all forgetfulness, 
and renders us mindful of God's commandments 
for their observance; it teaches us to dread 
punishment to be inflicted for transgressions, it 
checks evil desires, it leads to continual con- 



440 PABT SECOND. 

sideration of the divine presence, and averts from 
all evil. The second degree is to renounce self- 
will and not to accomplish one's own desires. 
For as ambition of self-excellence carries out 
self-will in all things, so the truly humble man 
imitates Christ, who says (John, v, 30) : "I seek 
not my own will, but the will of him that sent 
me." The third, to subject one's self to a su- 
perior in all obedience; for the proud Angel 
therefore fell because he would not obey; but 
the true teacher of perfection "humbled himself, 
becoming obedient even unto death." The 
fourth, patiently to endure every injury and toil, 
and every vexation for love of obedience and sub- 
mission. For the humble man thinks it better 
to suffer everything harsh and oppressive, rather 
than to rise up against a superior and refuse his 
authority. 

2. The fifth, clearly and openly to manifest 
to one's superior evil acts and thoughts and all 
the recesses of conscience; for he who despises 
himself gladly uncovers his ills and easily dis- 
closes his disease to a physician, who knows him- 
self to be infirm. The sixth, to be content with 
all meanness and abjection, in all one's own 
works to judge one's self as a bad and unprofit- 
able and wholly unworthy laborer, But mean- 
ness regards food, drink, dress and furniture ; 
abjection regards place, state and rank. More- 



OF THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY. 441 

over, he who deems himself vile and contemptible, 
accepts with joy what is the poorer in all things. 
The seventh, not only in words to declare one's 
self viler and lower than all, but to believe it with 
the inmost affection of the heart. For the truly 
humble man applies to himself the expression of 
his master, in which he says (Ps. xxi, 7) : "I am 
a worm, and no man : the reproach of men, and 
the outcast of the people." The eighth, to fol- 
low the common rule, and to be free from all 
singularity. For once a man is humble, he covets 
not to appear greater or better than others, 
wherefore he shuns all singularity, by reason of 
which he could be pointed out by others as of any 
prominence. 

3. The ninth, to shun talkativeness and be 
silent until questioned ; for as loquacity proceeds 
from pride, which wishes to display itself, so does 
silence from humility, which desires to lie con- 
cealed and to be unknown. The tenth, not to be 
easy and ready for laughter; inasmuch as the 
humble are modest and circumspect, and there- 
fore restrain laughter, and like to weep rather 
than to laugh. The eleventh, not to be boisterous 
in language, but to speak few and reasonable 
words, and that gently, humbly, without laughter 
and with gravity, as becomes an humble and 
modest man. The twelfth, to show humility not 
only in the heart, but also in the body, that is, 



442 PABT SECOND. 

with humble and modest gait, with an ever down^ 
cast look and with eyes fixed on the earth. For 
the humble man assumes the garb of a culprit, 
and thinks that at every hour he is to be pre- 
sented before the dreadful tribunal of God; 
wherefore, smitten with the remembrance of his 
sins, and terrified at the rigor of divine judgment, 
he dares not lift his eyes to heaven, but with the 
publican standing afar off he begs pardon of his 
sins with humble prayer and disposition. 



PART THIRD 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 



Chapter I. — Of the Proximate Disposition 
for Perfection. 

He to whom nothing is wanting is called a 
perfect man. But what can be wanting to him 
who purified from sins, cleansed from vices, free 
from every imperfection and adorned with all 
virtues, adheres most closely to his God, and is 
made one spirit with him for ever? This is the 
highest point of christian perfection, to which 
we are tending ; this the ultimate end of spiritual 
life, which we now undertake to describe. For 
as anything whatever is then considered perfect 
when it is united with its end, and as our end is 
God, we must then at length be of necessity per- 
fected when we perfectly adhere to God. But 
this union and connection takes place by love and 
contemplation, as we shall explain further on, 
after some things, which have a general bearing 
on the state of perfection, shall have been dis- 
posed of. 

443 



444 PABT THIB&. 

§1. — Of Perfect Abnegation, Which Proximately 
Disposes the Soul for Perfection. 
1. There is no question here of the abnega- 
tion, which consists in mortification of the pas- 
sions, in alienation from exterior things, in aver- 
sion from honors and dignities and in self- 
contempt, but of another more recondite and 
difficult renouncement, which frees the soul from 
all dissimilarity with God, and so far reduces 
ourselves under his power, that we entirely de- 
pend on his good pleasure, and desire nothing 
more than to be led and moulded in whatever 
manner God may choose, so that, if possible, our 
will may be altogether broken, and self-love 
plucked up by the roots. But there are two 
ground-works of this perfect denial : The first 
is the lowest opinion of one's self and of created 
things, which proceeds from continual consider- 
ation and daily experience of the vanity, misery 
and nothingness, which all creatures of them- 
selves possess. The second is a sublime knowl- 
edge and conception of God's immensity, which 
may arise, not indeed from deep contemplation 
of his perfections, but from complete and per- 
fect resignation and abandonment in the hands 
of God himself, who is our ultimate end and per- 
petual beatitude. On these ground-works the 
whole spiritual structure of abnegation is to be 
built by us, that we may be able to attain to in- 
timate union with God. 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 445 

2. But to acquire this denial it is necessary, 
first, to lay aside a twofold error, by which the 
understanding of spiritual men is generally wont 
to be darkened: One mistake is that of some, 
who think that perfection of spiritual life con- 
sists in interior consolations and illuminations, 
by which the soul becomes more eager to serve 
God and love him; and this ability they imagine 
to be of great merit before God ; when neverthe- 
less beneath it of ten lies hid self-love, the bane 
of merit, from which the contrary difficulty is 
free; thus, too, spiritual delights sometimes open 
the way to diabolical illusions, which afflictions 
and trials close, the Lord saying (Ps. xc, 15): 
"I am with him in trouble." The other mistake 
is that by which we form and seek for ourselves 
a certain interior and exterior quiet, by which 
putting aside cares and suppressing agitating 
movements we may serve God calmly and peace- 
fully, and love him perfectly; when the reverse 
is the case, for God permits the minds of his 
friends in this life to be scarcely ever at rest ; 
"for power is made perfect in infirmity, and 
through many tribulations we must enter into 
the kingdom of God." 

3. These errors being driven from the under- 
standing, three defects are to be cut off from the 
will by the sword of abnegation: The first is 
that of persons who too eagerly seek and possess 
with tenacity in the inferior part of the soul 



446 PABT THIBD. 

sensible devotion, tenderness of heart, spiritual 
consolation, the intention of which is not pure; 
because if God withdraw these gifts from them, 
they are not of peaceful heart, until they receive 
them again. These favors may, indeed, be asked 
and desired with due and upright intention ; but 
it is better for a perfect man to serve God with- 
out these delights, yea, with contrary disgust, 
desolation and abandonment. The second defect 
is that of some who in the soul's superior part 
receive divine illustrations and spiritual gifts, 
whereby the memory is enriched, the under- 
standing brightened and the will inflamed with 
the heat of divine love. For because all abund- 
ance is dangerous to the unwary, though these 
favors may be received by them in due order and 
with right intention, they are mistaken never- 
theless, because reposing in them more than may 
be expedient, from a very subtle and hidden ig- 
norance they incautiously enjoy, not God, but 
his gifts. Finally, the third defect regards 
those who resign themselves purely to the divine 
pleasure, retaining in themselves nothing of their 
own, and have none of the glue of love, which 
may in any way cause them to adhere to creat- 
ures or to the gifts of God. These are commonly 
raised to divine apparitions and visions, and en- 
joy many and wonderful and inexplicable gifts 
of God, but they cannot yet arrive at a blessed 
union with God, first, because they would not so 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 447 

willingly be deprived of the fore-mentioned gifts 
as they greedily receive them; next, in the very 
gifts something seems wanting to them, namely, 
the union itself and manifestation of God with- 
out forms and representations, which they there- 
fore beg of God with a certain very subtle avarice 
and very occult and scarcely perceptible selfish- 
ness. But this defect, though it may seem very 
trifling, yea none, is to be entirely mortified and 
extirpated, if we desire to be found worthy of 
holy union. 

4. From what has been said may be easily in- 
ferred the practice of this most perfect abnega- 
tion, of which we are speaking, contained in 
these rules : We shall truly and unf eignedly 
think and avow ourselves undeserving of every 
consolation and gift of God; then we shall de- 
sire sole and bare virtue and perfection, with 
complete and full indifference to the possession 
and non-possession of every and each gift of 
Go;l; finally, we shall put ourselves in knowledge 
and affection beneath every creature, desiring to 
be scorned and harshly treated by all, and to be 
given over by God to every tribulation, anxiety 
and desolation. We shall wish to be forsaken and 
despised, rather than to be consoled and exalted, 
saying with the Prophet (Ps. lxviii, 21): "My 
heait hath expected reproach and misery." We 
shall receive the very gifts of God with great 
liberty and indifference, remaining as free and 



448 PABT THIBD. 

unconcerned, as if we have not had them; in 
them we shall merely admire God's bounty, and 
shall return him thanks, because he has deigned 
mercifully to bestow his hidden favors on un- 
worthy sinners. We shall by no means repose 
in the favors themselves, but shall be ever ready 
to be deprived of them, because perfection does 
not properly consist in them, they being only the 
loving gifts of God's goodness, by which he al- 
lures us to follow a perfect life; but it would be 
absurd to esteem gifts higher than the giver. 
We shall, with pure disinterestedness of mind, 
lift up to God all the powers of our soul, adher- 
ing to him only, and desiring to possess him 
alone; we shall wish for no virtue or perfection, 
except such and in such manner as God may will ; 
we shall renounce all contrary sentiment; we 
shall, without any sadness of heart, reject even 
supernatural lights themselves ; we shall mortify 
the very desire of suffering, of being perfectly 
resigned, of arriving at union, submitting all 
these to the divine pleasure, and keeping our 
heart with all watchfulness, lest self-love insen- 
sibly creep in, and through the slightest fissures 
mingle with even the very acts of the purest and 
highest virtue. In fine, we shall not long for 
eternal glory itself, and the never-ending vision 
of God, otherwise than as it may please him, 
yet without his offence; inasmuch as our perfec- 
tion consists in none of the foregoing things, 



OF THE UNIT1VE WAY. 449 

but in the purest love of God, in entire con- 
formity of our will with the divine, in most sin- 
cere privation and complete renouncement of all 
things that are not God, through which a blessed 
union is reached. 



§2. — Of the Divine Presence. 
1. That the continual remembrance of God is 
of great moment for acquiring all perfection and 
intimate friendship with God, he himself shows 
who says: "I am the Almighty God: walk be- 
fore me, and be perfect" (Gen. xvii, 1). The 
prophet Micheas also says (vi, 8): "I will shew 
thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord 
requireth of thee: Verily to do judgment, and 
to loye mercy, and to walk carefully with thy 
God." For the divine presence wards off not 
only sins, but even the most trivial imperfec- 
tions, as the sun dispels the darkness of night; 
it arranges our interiors and exteriors with an ad- 
mirable moderation, much more forcibly than 
the look of any king ; it renders us brisk and ob- 
servant to perform manfully all things apper- 
taining to God; it so imprints God on the mind 
that it is difficult to dismiss the recollection of 
him; it takes possession of the entire man, and 
diverts him from all care of outside things; it 
impels to deepest reverence of the divine Ma- 
jesty; it fills and inflames the heart with love 
(29— Spir. Life.) 



450 PABT THIBD. 

and holy desires; and at length unites our soul, 
made holy, to its ultimate end. "I set the Lord 
always in my sight : for he is at my right hand 
that I be not moved," says the Psalmist (xv, 
8 and 9) : "Therefore my heart hath been glad, 
and my tongue hath rejoiced : moreover my flesh 
also shall rest in hope." But we can conceive 
and contemplate God as ever present to us in 
three ways. 

2. The first is in sensible representation, for 
instance, if we behold Christ our Savior in everv 
place and work as it were present and looking at 
us; regarding which manner some things are to 
be noted. Firstly, that we view Christ in that 
mystery which most strikes our mind and brings 
greater utility, according to the exigency of our 
soul's condition, whether reclining in the manger, 
or flying into Egypt, or preaching, or suffering 
and crucified, or rising again and ascending into 
heaven. Secondly, we shall behold him as if 
standing close by us (for neither are we to go to 
heaven in thought), as man and God, not as 
simple man, that thus we may learn from his 
humanity to penetrate to the divinity, and as a 
beholder and witness of our works and inner- 
most thoughts ; for all things are naked and open 
to his eyes. Thirdly, to this presence we shall 
add frequent aspirations and affections of the 
will, by which the soul may be excited and dis- 
posed to union. 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 45 L 

3. The second way is outside us, without any 
sensible image, when we view Almighty God with 
the eyes of faith present to us in his Divinity, 
and examining all our concerns: "Do not I fill 
heaven and earth, saith the Lord?" (Jerem. xxiii, 
24), and thus regarding ourselves as an atom en- 
compassed with light, as a sponge immersed in 
the sea, as a little fish surrounded with waters; 
for in the same manner does God encompass, 
penetrate and fill us from every side. Then we 
shall rise to God himself by frequent aspirations, 
and when we shall perceive ourselves to be dis- 
tracted in external works, we shall recall our 
mind to the divine presence, by this or some 
other similar verse (Ps. 1, 12) : "Create a clean 
heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit 
within my bowels." 

4. The third is that most perfect way, by which 
we behold with purest eyes God no longer out- 
side us, but present in the recess of our heart and 
in the depth of our soul, and infusing his bless- 
ings into us ; that is, when forsaking all creatures 
we become accustomed to betake ourselves within 
us, and erecting a sort of temple in our heart 
there worship God truly present, reverently hear 
him, converse with him in a friendly manner, and 
fly to him in every emergency, as a son to his 
father and a spouse to her bridegroom . This way 
is called mental and unitive, to which should be 
added fervent aspirations, which will be the more 



452 PART THIRD. 

ardent and efficacious, because the soul having 
put on God, views him within itself without forms 
and images, without any imperfection, with the 
simplest singleness of spirit, and therefore be- 
comes most adapted and proximately disposed 
for union. 

5. But because this exercise, though in itself 
very easy (for what is easier than to behold what 
is everywhere?), is nevertheless rendered difficult 
to us on account of the corruption of our nature, 
it behooves us to surmount this difficulty by cer- 
tain remedies. And, first, we ought to study pur- 
ity of heart, because it is written (Matt, v, 8) : 
"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall 
see God." Next, love of God is to be excited by 
continual aspirations, and self-love destroyed, 
that we may be able wholly to forget ourselves 
and to be mindful of God alone. Then, this gift 
is to be humbly and constantly implored of God, 
and, finally, those remedies which are wont to be 
easily pointed out for use are to be employed, 
such as some sign exciting us to this remembrance, 
a particular examination arranged on this subject 
and others of the same nature. 



§3. — Of Conformity of the Human Will With 
the Divine. 
1. This is the primary endeavor of a man as- 
piring to perfection, to inquire what God wills, 
and in what manner his most holv will is to be cher- 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 453 

ished and accomplished, that we may in every- 
thing and every moment say with Paul (Acts, 
ix, 6) : "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
and with Christ (Matt, vi, 10): "Thy will be 
done," assuredly may it be done in me, with me, 
regarding me, through me, as well in life, as in 
death, both in time and in eternity. In this con- 
formity is found the supreme good of life, su- 
preme peace and tranquillity, heaven outside 
heaven and men's true felicity. For how can he 
be disturbed, or dejected, or affected by any 
trouble, who receives all things with equanimity 
from the hand of God, who most firmly believes 
that all things are ordered by the pleasure of the 
eternal Father, and that his will is accomplished 
in all, whether prosperous or adverse? Is he not 
to be considered blessed in this mortal life, who 
so cleaves to God that he has one will with him ? 
He no doubt is blessed, because, since he wishes 
nothing but what God wishes, he always accom- 
plishes his own will. 

2. This conformity rests on two foundations. 
The first is, that in it consists the sum and 
height of our perfection, and the greater that 
conformity will be, so much the more perfect 
shall we be ourselves ; for as perfection is essen- 
tially placed in the charity of God, and the 
highest degree of love is identity of wish and 
dislike, it is evident that human perfection will 
be so much the greater, the more the human 



454 PABT THIBD. 

will itself will be united and conformable to the 
divine. The second foundation is most certain 
from Catholic faith, that nothing whatever takes 
place in the world (sin only excepted), whether 
that be good or evil, whether it proceed from a 
natural, or from a contingent and free cause, 
without the express will of God (Isai. xlv, 7): 
"I, the Lord, make peace, and create evil," he 
says, namely, the evil of pain. "Are not two 
sparrows sold for a farthing," says our Savior 
(Matt, x, 29), "and not one of them shall fall 
on the ground without your Father?" But if 
small animals, and these destined to perish, per- 
ish not without God's will, it is much more cred- 
ible that nothing of evil shall happen to us 
without the will and providence of God. 

3. But for ascertaining and performing God's 
will the following rules are assigned : Whatever 
things are to be done, or ommitted, as well spir- 
itual as corporal, are of a threefold kind; for 
they are either commanded, or forbidden, or in- 
different. Regarding things commanded and 
forbidden the will of God is clear, namely, that 
the former be done, the latter not done. Re- 
garding indifferent things, it is to be observed 
that these are divided into three species : There 
are some by which nature and sense are de- 
lighted; others which nature shuns; of these it 
is better to choose that wlr^h is less agreeable 
to sense, and from whick Jf-will -shrinks the 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 455 

more, unless discretion, the mother of virtues, 
may seem to require otherwise, making allow- 
ance for time, place, person, health and other 
circumstances according to the advice of a spir- 
itual Father, or other prudent person. The third 
species of things indifferent is made up of those 
towards which the will is equally balanced, as if 
there happen to be two beggars together equally 
needy, and alms can be had only for one; or if 
two ways offer to a person going to church, by 
which the journey can be made. But in these 
and other indifferent things of the same nature 
we can embrace whichever side we choose, with- 
out any uneasiness or long deliberation, premis- 
ing this act: O Lord, I will do, or omit that, 
because it is thy will. For thus the work, which 
was otherwise indifferent, shall be as much God's 
will, as are those commanded or forbidden ; both 
because in things of this kind God has supplied 
no other means for knowing and doing his will 
than the direction of the intention ; and because 
the exterior action is such before God as is the 
interior intention. 

4. But in order that the direction of the in- 
tention may be pleasing and acceptable to God, 
it ought, firstly, to be actually made ; so that the 
soul may be raised to God in act, and the inten- 
tion itself renewed for actions specifically dis- 
tinct; and when we advert that we are distracted. 
Secondly, it is to be made solely on account of 



456 PABT THIBD. 

God's will alone, excluding all other ends, how- 
ever good. Thirdly, willingly, that is, with full 
assent joined with peace, quiet and spiritual de- 
light, without any sadness and repugnance what- 
ever. Fourthly, unhesitatingly, that is, with un- 
doubting confidence, believing that work to be 
the identical will of God. Fifthly, plainly, that 
is, with lively faith regarding the work itself not 
as anj 7 thing created, but as God's uncreated will. 
Sixthly, with promptitude, that the direction take 
place immediately at the commencement of the 
work, w 7 hich shall be afterwards continued by 
acts of joy, humility, resignation and love, view- 
ing the work itself no longer as our own, but 
God's, and the divine will itself operating in us. 
5. But by the following signs we discover 
that our will depends in all things on the divine, 
and is in perfect harmony with it: 1) If we de- 
sire to do everything at the beck of the divine 
will and commence no business without first be- 
seeching God's help. 2) If we not only bear 
with even temper present hardships and calami- 
ties, but of our own accord covet them when 
absent. 3) If we have the greatest possible dis- 
trust in ourselves, and place all our confidence in 
God alone. 4) If brooking reproaches, insults, 
injuries and other ills in generous silence, we re- 
ceive them with joyful spirit from the hand of 
God. 5) If we be moved to wish or not to 
wish something, for the sole reason that God 



OF THE UXITIVE WAY. 457 

wishes it or wishes it not, and for no other cause 
whatever, though it may affect us very much and 
intimately. 6) Finally, if by love we be so trans* 
fused into God, be so immersed in the ocean of 
the divine will by the effort and weight of our 
whole will, that no good, no life, however most 
blessed, may be more to us than God, and that 
we may know, think or wish nothing, except 
God's pleasure and will. 



Chapter II. — Of Contemplation. 
The unitive way is twofold : one which mainly 
consists in the intellect, or in contemplation, the 
other which mostly rests in love. And these ways 
agree with one another, in that each requires 
perfect charity and the practice of virtues, and 
renouncement of self and of all things, and each 
intends to unite the soul with God. But they 
differ in many ways ; for the former is rather 
speculative than practical, the latter more prac- 
tical. That requires so many things, that it is 
limited and granted rarely and to few ; this can 
be obtained everywhere, always, by all persons, 
and in every work. That is exposed to diaboli- 
cal illusions, to self-love and pride on account of 
the relish and exaltation of mind; in this a man 
forsakes himself entirely, nor seeks anything 
else besides God. That is narrow, this dilates 
the heart to infinite things. By that a man de- 
livers a part of himself to God, by this he trans- 



458 PABT THIBD. 

f ers himself entire into God, and therefore it is 
more perfect and more requisite. We are now 
about to say something briefly of each, and first 
we shall treat of contemplation, then of love and 
lastly of union itself. 



§1. — Wliat Contemplation Is. 
1. Contemplation is the perfection of virtues, 
the fulfillment of desires, the goal of prayer, and 
a unique and most efficacious means for attaining 
blessed union. This holds the first place among 
all the exercises of the mind, for it is more clear, 
more direct, more secure, more pleasing, more 
sublime and more like the life of the blessed. 
This is a suspended elevation of the mind to God, 
a certain view and agreeable admiration of clear 
truth, tasting the joys of eternal sweetness. 
Through this we are drawn as deeply into solitude 
and singleness of heart, as if we were to live a 
hundred leagues remote from every creature. 
None, except one who has learned to despise all 
external consolation, and to take delight in true 
and divine joys alone, can truly attain to it. He 
who has acquired this, can say with the Spouse 
(Cant, v, 2) : "I sleep, and my heart watcheth;" 
for the exterior senses sleep, and the heart 
watches in the action of interior exercise, and the 
bodily senses receive nothing that can leave any 
impression in the heart, because the approach to 
God by love and contemplation and the continual 



OF THE TJtflTIVE WAY. 459 

attachment to God are made so savory and desir- 
able to the heart, that it considers every occupa- 
tion about exterior things a most grievous and 
unbearable affliction. 

2. The holy Fathers and scholastic Doctors 
give several definitions of contemplation ; this 
seems to me the best: Contemplation is a free, 
penetrating and certain view of God and of heav- 
enly things, causing admiration, ending in love 
and proceeding from love. Contemplation is a 
view, for it is not the work of reason discussing 
and seeking truth, as does meditation; but the 
work of the understanding purely beholding 
truth without any reasoning. And this view is 
called free, first on the part of the contemplative, 
who ought to be free from sins, from corrupt and 
inordinate affections, and from superfluous cares ; 
secondlv, from the act itself, for the mind, disen- 
gaged from earthly things and raised as it were 
in the air, is borne about in freeest flight, whither- 
soever God carries it. Thirdly, from that which 
is beheld, for that is contemplated either devoid 
of sensible images, or manifested to a person by 
the images themselves. The same view is said to 
be penetrating, clear and conspicuous, not that 
the soul in this life contemplating God can see 
him clearlv: but because the light of wisdom so 
illuminates the understanding and perfects faith, 
that in comparison of former knowledge, which 
was had through meditation, this may appear 



460 PABT THIBD. 

bright and distinct. Besides, the view is certain, 
both because the soul is thereby rendered more 
certain of divine things and firmly adheres to 
them; and because the intuition is concerned 
with God and celestial things, and all that Cath- 
olic faith teaches. It causes admiration, since 
the things we contemplate, though otherwise 
known, are nevertheless propounded in an unusual 
manner, and therefore seem novel and wonderful. 
3. But there is the closest connection between 
contemplation and divine love, on which account 
we have said that it proceeds from love and ends 
in love. For contemplative life, though it essen- 
tially consist in the understanding, still has its 
origin in the will, because from the charity of 
God we are incited to contemplation. But be- 
cause the end corresponds to its principle, the 
limit and end of the same life is had in affection, 
while we are delighted in the vision of the object 
loved, and the delight itself excites love the 
more. From these it is inferred, first, that hardly 
anything can be said of love, without at the 
same time treating of contemplation; and vice 
versa, that the grace of contemplation is alto- 
gether unknown, without full knowledge of love. 
It is inferred, secondly, that he ought to be 
deemed the more excellent in divine wisdom who 
loves God more, although he may be ignorant of 
scholastic Theology ; and that he, after the 
manner of Mary, chooses the better part, which 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 461 

shall not be taken away from him. Finally, 
from these it follows that love is more unitive 
than knowledge; for "God is charity, and he 
who abides in charity abides in God, and God in 
him;" and love always desires to make one of 
the lover and the beloved, that they may be no 
longer two but one, not indeed in the flesh, but 
in the spirit, as the Apostle says (1 Cor. vi, 17) : 
"He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit. 



§2. — How Manifold Contemplation Is, What Its 
Object, What Its Effects and End. 
1. The division of contemplation is manifold, 
but that is considered the principal by which it 
is divided into infused and acquired. The in- 
fused is that which has its rise from grace alone 
or divine inspiration*; and the acquired, which 
human exertion or industry begets, not without 
the divine aid. That proceeds from the gifts of 
the Holy Ghost, this from human reasoning. 
That is performed in a spiritual manner, the Holy 
Ghost directly touching and inspiring the mind ; 
this in a natural way by the use of ratiocination, 
which simple intuition of the subject accom- 
panies. That is like a ship, which sails most 
smoothly with favoring wind and unfurled sails, 
without any toil of rowers. This is likened to 
the same ship which very many rowers with 
great exertion scarcely impel and move along, 
while there is a calm or contrary wind. That 



462 PABT THIBD. 

flies, this runs. Grace goes before that, labor 
before this. In fine, the infused is easier, be- 
cause with swiftest movement it searches and 
penetrates divine things without the long wind- 
ings of meditations ; but the acquired has not a 
few difficulties, nor can we arrive at it without 
previous practice of meditation. Wherefore, if 
any one is on fire with the desire of contempla- 
tion, he ought to devote himself to continual 
meditations, and be persuaded for certain, that 
all meditation is fruitless that does not pass into 
contemplation, which it ought to have for its 
aim; for it will be then as a road without an 
end, as a voyage without a harbor, as a body 
without a soul. But as advance is made to facil- 
ity of meditation by assiduous endeavor of the 
understanding and will ; so by this the faculty of 
contemplation is gradually acquired, increased 
and perfected. 

2. The object with which contemplation is 
concerned is manifold, namely, the sovereign 
God and his infinite perfections ; Christ our Sa- 
vior, and all those things that regard the mystery 
of our redemption ; celestial glory and the entire 
state of the triumphant Church, the Blessed Vir- 
gin, the Angels and Saints, and their merits, en- 
dowments and felicity ; the state of the militant 
Church, its grandeur, its marks, its persecutions 
and triumphs; the visible universe and all crea- 
tures, as far as they lead and raise us to the 



OF THE TJNITIVE WAY. 4G3 

knowledge and love of God] we ourselves, who 
and what we are, and what we ought to hope 
from the benevolence of the Lord; finally, to in- 
. elude all in a few words, all matter of meditation 
is likewise matter of contemplation, except that 
meditation inquires, contemplation tastes; the 
former is the mother of love, the latter its daugh- 
ter; that considers objects that move us singly 
and by parts ; this views the object by simple in- 
tuition, and moves with greater force. 

3. The effects of contemplation are also many ; 
for, first, it corrects all excesses, because it im- 
bues the soul with great light, so that it recog- 
nizes the will of God, even in the smallest things ; 
next, it plucks up the very roots of vices, directs 
the affections, renounces private judgment and 
will, overcomes temptations, perfects virtues and 
embellishes works, collects the senses, rectifies 
the intention, confers peace, which the world 
cannot give, endures every trial and adversity 
with gladness of soul, causes to flow plentifully, 
and pours out on others the plenitude of graces 
and streams of learning. In fine, it elevates the 
mind to God, and places it among the celestial 
choirs, produces oblivion of all exterior things, 
and confers on the soul ineffable joy and inex- 
plicable delight. 

4. But the end of contemplation is to bring 
to most blessed union with God the soul with- 
drawn from all creatures and inflamed with th§ 



464 PART THIRD. 

most fervent love of God, so that he who has 
reached this state may say: "I live, now not I, 
but Christ liveth in me." But whereas the 
science of entire religion is divided into two 
parts, namely, into the active and contemplative 
life, let it be remarked that the active life ought 
to precede that which is engaged in contempla- 
tion ; because from a good work advance is made 
towards contemplation, and the duties of good 
action are nothing else than necessary prep- 
aration for contemplation. Moreover, the holy 
Fathers assert that action ought to be far the 
longer, not only before, but even in the practice 
itself of contemplation, so that, seven being di- 
vided into six and one, for example, we may 
leave for contemplation the seventh alone, the 
other six parts being assigned to action. For 
the necessity of this life requires that more be 
given to action, and the very infirmity of our na- 
ture compels us to return from the height of 
contemplation to active work, that exercising 
ourselves in good works we may be drawn again 
by God's favoring grace to the summit of con- 
templation. Contemplation is then a reward of 
action, but is not always given to those seeking 
and procuring it. First, because some aspire to 
it with earthly affections not wholly subdued, 
nor themselves exercised in virtues. Secondly, 
because not a few are naturally unsuited for it, 
who ought to be kept within the limits of action, 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 465 

in the duties of which they are profitably en- 
gaged. For action is necessary for salvation, be- 
cause we cannot be devoid of good works and 
the practice of virtues, as we can be of contem- 
plation. 

§3.-— Of the Degrees of Contemplation. 
1. Although it be difficult to reduce all the 
degrees of contemplation to a certain number, 
as God is wont to communicate himself to the 
soul in countless ways; still some more recent 
writers enumerate only fifteen, to which all that 
either experience has taught on this subject, or 
the holy Fathers have laid down, seem referrible. 
The first degree then is intuition of truth. In 
this degree God raises the soul above all reason- 
ing, as it were, into a certain beacon, and there 
kindles the brilliant torch of wisdom, and pro- 
poses for contemplation his perfections, or the 
mysteries of Christ's humanity, or some truth 
appertaining to greater purity of heart. Here 
the understanding receives the highest knowl- 
edge of divine things not worked out by its own 
dialectics, but strongly infused by God. Here a 
certain simple and pleasing cheerfulness is stamped 
on the memory, by which it rejects all extraneous 
things, and rests in God alone. Here the will is 
inflamed with the purest love of God, which is 
sometimes diffused into the inferior faculties, and 
(30— Spir. Life.) 



466 PART THIBD. 

passes to the body itself. Here the soul drives 
away from itself all affections, all exorcises, all 
desires that do not appertain to God, desiring 
nothing, wishing nothing but love. But the act 
of contemplation, as we may here premise in 
passing for understanding this and the following 
degrees, takes place like every other cognition 
through the likeness of things, which philoso- 
phers call species-; and that in a threefold manner : 
Firstly, by the species received from sensible 
things, in which manner we behold God as a very 
brilliant light or fire through the species of 
created light and material fire, and this is what 
Aristotle says: The intelligent being ought to 
behold the impressions; and Denis, the Areop- 
agite : It is impossible for the divine ray to shine 
on us, unless screened by variety of sacred veils. 
Secondly, through the species not indeed re- 
ceived directly from sensible things, but drawn or 
composed from these ; thus we imagine a golden 
mountain, because we have previously seen gold 
and mountain separately. Thirdly, through spe- 
cies infused by God, which mode is supernatural, 
and known to those only who deserve to be 
raised to it. 

2. The second degree of contemplation is a 
withdrawal of the soul to things interior, when 
with all its strength it betakes itself to the inter- 
nal, and is far separated from externals. God is 
wont to call the contemplative soul in an instant, 



OF THE UXITIVE WAY. 467 

and concentrate it on internals, and serve before 
it a table of light and love, by which it may be 
refreshed. Then drawn by God it forsakes 
things without, and as if naturally, shuts the eyes 
of the body, and turns all the rest of the senses 
to things within. But this entry of the soul into 
the recess of the heart is the work of God; for 
it cannot thus concentrate itself and continue in 
this peaceful solitude. In this retirement God 
makes the soul a retreat, in which to dwell; a 
garden, in which to gather flowers and scatter 
the seeds of virtues. The soul indeed would 
wish to remain permanently in this rest, but by 
the Lord's disposal it is set free and at once 
comes forth, not knowing in what manner that 
private sanctuary has disappeared. It does not, 
however, come forth empty, for all exterioi 
things have for it a far other savor than before^ 
and it values more the hope of again returning 
into that solitude, than the certainty of possess* 
ing all earthly goods. In the next place, it en 
deavors by its own exertions to enter into itself , 
and is thus disposed to be again drawn by G' ,d 
and raised to a higher sphere. Meanwhih it 
faints away through excess of desire and crie<,out 
with the Prophet (Ps. xxvi, 4): "One th,ng I 
have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, 
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the 
days of my life." 



468 PABT THIBD. 

3. The third degree is spiritual silence. For 
the soul introduced into the inner chamber some- 
times speaks indeed, when feeling within itself 
the presence of the Lord it discloses its desires 
to him; but more frequently it is silent, when 
with the increase of light and love the act of un- 
derstanding is suspended; and it ceases from 
words, knowing not what to say through amaze- 
ment. Then, as iron attracted by the magnet, it 
cleaves to him in gazing on the supreme good. 
Then the will is raised to the most ardent love, 
that prevents internal utterances. Then all 
things in a man are silent, the senses make no 
noise, the desires are at rest, while the soul 
meantime awaits in silence God's salvation, lis- 
tening to what God may speak within it, until 
that light fade, through admiration of which it 
was silent. For at the departure of that light it 
returns to sweet colloquies, and passes to exterior 
things more fervent than usual. 

4. Fourth degree, quiet. As a stone in its 
centre, so everything rests in its ultimate end 
once attained. The ultimate end and highest 
good of a rational soul is God; the soul there- 
fore seeing itself beside God, rests in his love as 
in the completion of its desire, and says with the 
Spouse (Cant, ii, 3): "I sat down under his 
shadow, whom I desired : and his fruit was sweet 
to my palate." In this quiet all the powers of 
the soul are satiated ; the rational, because it 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 469 

adheres to supreme truth ; the concupiscible, be- 
cause it is united to supreme goodness; the iras- 
cible, because it enjoys supreme glory, power 
and dignity, to which it aspired. Here love of 
all virtues is excited in the soul, all exercises of 
piety become most easy to it, and a desire of 
serving God, and of subjecting the flesh to the 
spirit in new and unusual ways, is more strongly 
enkindled in it. 

5. The fifth, union. For quiet passes into 
union. But this union does not take place in the 
soul's substance, in such manner as to lose its 
being and be changed into God, as some heretics 
have dreamed; but it takes place when God, with 
brightest light in the innermost and deepest re- 
cess of the soul, exhibits himself present to it, 
and shows himself gazing on and most tenderly 
loving it. A soul placed in this degree clings 
most tenaciously to God, is invested with new 
splendor of grace, and a something celestial and 
divine appears in it. It is strengthened for diffi- 
cult undertakings, is perfected with most pro- 
found humility, is set on fire with zeal for the 
salvation of souls, and desires to be dissolved and 
be with Christ. But more at length of union 
hereafter in the last chapter, for in it consists 
the highest perfection of spiritual life; the re- 
maining degrees, which follow, are effects of 
union, rather than distinct degrees of contem- 
plation. 



470 PAST THIBb. 

6. Sixth , hearing of God's speech. God is 
wont to speak to the soul in divers ways through 
Scripture, through prelates, through preachers, 
and through chastisements, and by interior in- 
spiration. These words are common to all, but 
he speaks to the comtemplative soul by himself 
and through Angels, either by exterior voice, 
which may be perceived by the corporal ear, or 
by interior voice, which may be conceived by the 
imagination, or in a purely spiritual manner, by im- 
printing truth in the understanding, which speech 
is proper to the Angels. In this manner God 
sometimes deigns through himself to instruct a 
soul united to him, and by speech of this sort en- 
lightens and inflames it, and impregnates it with 
holy desires. 

7. Seventh, spiritual sleep. That is, love so 
strong, that it excludes all operation of the intel- 
lect, or at least does not in any way perceive it. 
For as corporal sleep closes all the exterior 
senses, and takes away their exercise, so this 
sleep, transcending all sense, swallows up all the 
faculties of the soul, while the soul most happily 
reposes in the bosom of the Bridegroom, and 
asleep to itself and the world watchfully listens 
to God, saying with the Spouse (Cant, v, 2) : "I 
sleep, and my heart watch eth." 

8. Eighth, ecstasy. But ecstasy is an eleva- 
tion of the mind to God, with abstraction from 
the exterior senses proceeding from the great- 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 471 

ness of the elevation itself. For as the soul has 
limited power and capacity, the more effica- 
ciously it applies to one function, the less it at- 
tends to others. Wherefore, it can by the di- 
vine agency be engaged with such close applica- 
tion in beholding and loving the things of Crod, 
that it may neither see things present, nor hear 
the words of those speaking hard by, nor even 
feel a sharp instrument or fire applied to the 
body; and then it is said to undergo ecstasy. 

9. Ninth, rapture. This adds something be- 
yond ecstasy, for ecstasy is a mental excess, by 
which the mind is gently gathered within itself 
and is led away from the use of the senses ; and 
rapture is the same excess, by which, through a 
sort of violence, it is torn from the senses and is 
raised to the inspection and love of things di- 
vine. But the essence of rapture consists in 
this, that contrary to the manner of its nature, 
knowing not how, the mind be most speedily and 
forcibly cut off from the senses and borne to 
higher objects. In this state the mind puts off 
itself completely, puts on a certain divine dis- 
position, and conformed to the beauty beheld, 
passes entire into sublime glory. But the body 
of him who is enraptured, either remains cold, 
rigid and unmoved, since it is almost forsaken 
by the soul; or is raised in the air by the energy 
of the spirit; or shows the force of interior 
movement in other unusual ways; so that he 



472 PART THIRD. 

who suffers these things, is sometimes thought 
by the ignorant to be troubled by an evil spirit, 
or to be intoxicated. 

10. Tenth, corporeal apparition of Christ and 
of the Saints. Whereas in the two foregoing 
degrees the soul forsakes all earthly friends, it 
is just that it enjoy the sight of those in heaven. 
But an apparition becomes visible or sensible 
outside rapture and ecstasy, when the soul can 
make use of the exterior senses, and that by the 
ministry of Angels in a misty and assumed body. 
An apparition of this kind however is not to be 
coveted, because it is very much exposed to di- 
abolical illusions. 

11. Eleventh, imaginary apparition of the 
same. This is more perfect than the former, 
and takes place through the species and like- 
nesses of things that we have already, and have 
derived by the exterior senses, or through new 
species infused by God or by Angels. It is wont 
to happen as well in sleep as in waking, whethei 
a man be in full enjoyment of his faculties, or be 
deprived of the use of the exterior senses. 

12. Twelfth, intellectual vision. This is merely 
spiritual, and is performed by God alone in 
the understanding, sometimes adding to himself 
angelic ministry. This vision is said to be re- 
ceived in the depth or the height of the mind, 
that is, in the intellect, not as a reasoning fac- 
ulty, but inasmuch as it has simple intuition. 



OF THE UNITIYE WAT. 473 

But it generally takes place through given spe- 
cies, with addition of a certain supernatural light. 

13. Thirteenth, vision of God in mist. This 
is the first mode of intellectual vision by which, 
passing over all creatures and forsaking all like- 
nesses of even supernatural mysteries, we are 
borne towards God as incomprehensible and in- 
conceivable and unintelligible to us, and are 
wholly absorbed in that ocean, as it were, of in- 
finite essence, which we are ignorant of. But 
the mist is a mystic light, to which access is not 
open, in which God is said to dwell, which can 
neither be seen nor approached by reason of its 
surpassing brightness, and on account of the 
singular effusion of divine light. In this is 
placed every man who has been held worthy to 
see and know God by not seeing nor knowing; 
who sees God in not seeing, and knows him in 
not knowing, and says with the Prophet (Ps. 
cxxxviii, 6) : "Thy knowledge is become wonder- 
ful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach it." 

14. Fourteenth, admirable manifestation of 
God. That is, the second mode of intellectual 
vision, when the mist is seen through and the ob- 
scurity dissipated, and God glorious, not indeed 
in his majesty and splendor, but in a sort of ex- 
perimental taste is felt and seen by ineffable and 
inexplicable handling, as it is called, more than 
by viewing. As this vision is most perfect, so is 
it most spiritual ; for God appears in the very 



474 PART THIRD. 

depth of the soul, as if in a certain heaven and 
kingdom of his own, as it is written (Luke, 
xvii, 21): "The kingdom of God is within you." 
In some just persons it is wont to last for a long 
time, though not always in the same intensity; 
nay, it is even given to a few after the manner of 
a habit, that the soul, as often as it chooses, may 
concentrate itself on God, and remain united to 
him by vision and affection ; wherefore this de- 
gree is by some called the spiritual marriage of 
God and soul. 

15. The fifteenth and last degree, the third 
mode of intellectual vision, though it belong not 
to this, but to a future and blessed life, after 
which we sigh, is clear and intuitive vision of 
God. This is our reward exceeding great, this 
the supreme felicity of our soul complete in the 
association of all goods. But because according 
to the probable opinion of certain Theologians 
it has been granted to a few most holy persons, 
to the most blessed Virgin Mary for instance, to 
Moses, the Apostle Paul and Saint Benedict, even 
in this life clearly to see the divine essence; 
therefore the highest degree of contemplation 
appertaining to this life also has been not unde- 
servedly placed in the clear vision of God. Thus 
is performed the ascent up this mystic ladder ; 
the soul begins by pursuit of prayer to be raised 
from terrestrial to heavenly things; then, for- 
warding the march of the mind from meditation 



OF THE VNITIVE WAY. 475 

to contemplation, it climbs aloft on the under- 
standing and affection as on two feet, God giving 
strength, who watches the climber's effort from 
the top of the ladder, and supplies him alacrity 
and strength when failing through infirmity of 
the flesh. But as on Jacob's ladder no Angel 
was seen to stop, for all were either ascending or 
descending; so in this pursuit, not to advance is 
to fall back, and he who ascends not descends ; 
begause between progress and failure no middle 
state is found. 

Chapter III. — Or the Love of God. 
It is not here my design to teach the art of 
Joving God, because there is no such art, but it 
suffices to begin to love; nor do I mean to teach 
the manner of loving God, for God is to be loved 
without measure; nor do I write of charity as a 
theological virtue, for that has been done already 
in this work; but since perfect union with God 
consists in charity, as has been said, and there- 
fore necessarily depends on the exercise of love, 
I shall here briefly treat some questions regard- 
ing divine love, that we may be excited to true 
love of God, and may be enabled through it to 
arrive at blessed union. 



§1. — Of the Nature of Divine Love. 
1. Charity is the end and perfection of all 
the commandments; whatever has been written, 



476 PART THIBD. 

as well in the Scriptures as in the works of the 
Saints, is either charity or appertains to charity. 
Charity is a virtue entirely alienated from all 
earthly and present things, inseparably joined to 
God, inflamed with a certain fire of the Holy 
Ghost, from whom it is and to whom it is di- 
rected; unacquainted with all defilement and 
corruption, miserably liable to no vice, raised 
above all things that are carnally loved, the most 
potent of all affections, greedy of divine contem- 
plation, always unconquered in all things, the 
sum of good actions, the safeguard of morals, 
the death of crimes, the life of virtues, the power 
of combatants, the palm of victors, the soul of 
holy minds, the cause of merits, the reward of 
the perfect. We ought to exercise this contin- 
ually and devote ourselves to it diligently, for 
love depends more on works than on words, as is 
written (1 John, iii, 18): "My little children, 
let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in 
deed and in truth." 

2. But since love is twofold, of concupiscence 
and of benevolence, we love God by both ; with 
the love of concupiscence, when we say to him 
(Ps. xvii, 2, 3) : "I will love thee, O Lord, mj T 
strength. The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, 
and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in 
him will I put my trust." But this love is far 
inferior to the other love, by which we, as it 
were, embrace God with benevolence, not on our 



OF THE TJNITIVE WAY. 477 

own account, or for our benefit, but for his own 
sake and for his glory, wishing him two kinds of 
goods, some of which are in himself, others for 
himself. The former are: being, living, power, 
wisdom, justice, mercy and other like attributes, 
which are nothing else than God himself. The 
latter are: honor, glory, sovereignty and obedi- 
ence. We wish those to God, delighting our- 
selves in the contemplation that he possesses 
them and is most abundant in them. To the 
same we wish these not only with delight, but 
also with desire and joy, when they are present, 
saying with the Scripture (Ps. lxv, 4) : "Let all 
the earth adore thee, and sing to thee;" and 
(Ibid, xxviii, 2) : "Bring to the Lord glory and 
honor;" and (Ibid. Ixiv, 2) : "A hymn, O God, 
becometh thee in Sion." But w T hen they are 
wanting we grieve and are distressed, and far as 
in us lies procure that they be present, and com- 
bat those who either deny these rights to God, 
or do not pay them, or cause them not to be 
paid by others, as the Prophet says (Ps. cxviii, 
139): "My zeal hath made me pine away : be- 
cause my enemies forget thy words." 

3. True love, then, of a rational creature 
towards God is not a sort of simple friendship, 
but supernatural and incomparable, infused into 
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us, 
drawing its origin from supernatural knowledge, 
which, residing in the will as on an imperial 



478 PABT THIBD. 

throne, illuminates, perfects and directs the en- 
tire soul and its faculties. This is the noblest 
love, whose object is of infinite goodness, beauty 
and perfection, in comparison of which other 
loves are nothing. This is our treasure and our 
entire good, for we have nothing that is truly 
ours, except love alone. But we cause the loss 
of this good with irreparable detriment, when we 
divert to a creature the love which is due to God. 
Some think there can be pure, simple and unitive 
love without any operation of the understanding 
that may precede or accompany love; God, for 
instance, immediately touching and by the most 
ardent love uniting to himself the height of the 
will. But others contradict this saying, that the 
will is not directed to the unknown, and in its 
operation essentially depends on the understand- 
ing. Let Scholastics decide what is to be thought 
of this matter. The power of divine love is cer- 
tainly great, and God can operate more in a soul 
united to him than the human understanding can 
perceive. 



§2. — What May Incite Us to Divine Love. 
1. The first incentive of divine love is God 
himself. For he is the supreme good, than 
whom nothing greater, nothing better can be 
conceived. Whatever regards eminence, beauty, 
nobility, perfection and beatitude, most fully and 
simply harmonizes with God, and is God himself 



OF THE UXITIVE WAY. 479 

with incomparable and wholly infinite excellence, 
majesty and glory, so that all created perfection 
compared with the divine is most imperfect, and 
may be reputed as nothing; and therefore God 
alone is affirmed to be, is alone called perfect, 
alone good, alone glorious, alone exalted and im- 
mortal. Accordingly, deeming God infinite, im- 
mense, incomprehensible and most amiable above 
all things, ought we not honor him with unpar- 
alleled love for his own sake alone, though he 
should have created none of the things that are? 
If we prefer a ruler to his subject, a rich man to 
a poor, and a learned to an ignorant man, al- 
though we may have had or may hope for noth- 
ing of good from them, would it not be extreme 
folly not to love God supremely, who is su- 
premely good and supremely amiable? But if 
we wish to be reckoned with those who test love 
by utility, what can there be more useful to us 
than to love God? He is our salvation, he our 
beatitude, nor is there anything desirable that 
can be compared to him. He is the fountain 
and source of all goods, generosity to the needy, 
mercy to the wretched, health to the sick, life to 
the perishing, wisdom to the ignorant, power to 
the weak, all things to all, satiating the desires 
of all in good things, and inebriating us with the 
torrent of his pleasure. Why, then, may we not 
honor him with supreme love ? 



480 PART THIRD. 

2. The second incentive is Christ our Lord; 
"For God so loved the world, as to give his only- 
begotten Son" (John, iii, 16). And did not the 
Son himself "come to cast the fire" of love "on 
the earth?" For what could he do for us lost 
and ungrateful, and hath not done? His nativ- 
ity, his infancy, his life and doctrine, his most 
bitter passion and most shameful death, his glo- 
rious resurrection and admirable ascension; in 
fine, his last coming, when he will come with 
majesty to judge the living and the dead, all his 
words and deeds, what else are they but continual 
voices preaching love, teaching love, demand- 
ing and exacting love from us? Assuredly by 
this incentive, if we are not stones, we are not 
only induced, but are drawn and compelled to 
divine love. 

3. The third is the university of creatures. 
For heaven and earth, and all things that are in 
them, cease not to cry to us to love God, who 
for us unfolded the heavens, lit up the sun, con- 
solidated the earth, poured out the seas, spread 
the atmosphere, arranged the course of the moon ; 
who bestows and supplies bread to him who eats, 
motion to him who runs, growth to vegetables, 
sense to animals, reason to man; who, since he 
has created all things below for our use, hath 
also given us the Angels, that is, superior spirits, 
ministers and guardians. 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 481 

4. In the fourth place come God's countless 
benefits, as well general as particular, which, like 
hottest fires from a glowing furnace, burst forth 
upon us, and excite flames of most ardent love 
towards our most munificent benefactor. Of this 
kind are predestination and election before the 
constitution of the world; creation, by which he 
gave us to be, live, feel and understand; in- 
tegrity of bodily members, clearness of the senses 
and other gifts of nature, conservation, govern- 
ment, preservation from many evils, redemption, 
use of the Sacraments, justification, room for re- 
pentance, vocation to the faith and the grace of 
Christ; embellishments of all virtues, theological 
and moral; gifts of the Holy Ghost, knowledge 
of God and of ourselves, greater than has been 
given to very many others ; perseverance in the 
way of his commandments, interior visitation, 
singular providence towards us, vocation to a 
spiritual and perfect life, merits of good works 
and hope of eternal life, and very many other 
special and secret favors, which can neither be 
numbered nor known by the most attentive man. 

5. Lastly, to pass over others, the most effi- 
cacious incentive to divine love is the love of 
God himself towards us. For love is the magnet 
pf love, and as material fire is enkindled by noth- 
ing better than by another fire, so love, which is 
pompared to fire, can be excited in no other way 

(31— Spir. Life^ 



482 PABT THIBD. 

more ardently, than by close consideration of the 
immense love wherewith God has first loved us. 
But the divine love towards us is from eternity 
(Eph. i, 4) : "He chose us . . . before the 
foundation of the world ;" is constant (Jer. xxxi, 
3) : "I have loved thee with an everlasting love;" 
effective, for he created and conserves the uni- 
verse on account of love; industrious, whereas, 
as Wisdom says (vi, 17): "She goeth about 
seeking such as are worthy of her, and she show- 
eth herself to them cheerfully;" patient (Ibid, 
xi, 24): "Thou winkest at the sins of men for 
the sake of repentance;" efficacious, because he 
has given himself for us, and visits us. with con- 
tinual favors; ardent, fervent, and extinguishing 
in us all other love, even of offspring, even of 
consort, even of ourselves; having, in fine, the 
perfection of all loves of father, mother and hus- 
band, as it is written (Deut. xxxii, 6): "Is not 
he thy father, that hath possessed thee, and 
made thee, and created thee?" and (Isaias, xl, 
15) : "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not 
to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she 
should forget, yet will not I forget thee;" and 
(Osee, ii, 19): "I will betroth thee to me for 
ever." 



§3. — Of the Fourfold State of Those Loving God. 

1. The first state is of active life, in which 

with affections yet unsubdued the soul beholds 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 483 

God indeed from a distance, and as if tastes him 
running to the odor of his ointments, yet does 
not enjoy him to its wish and delight, because 
oppressed by the weight of carnal custom it falls 
to things of earth, and thrust back by the im- 
mense effulgence of the Divinity, it slides into 
its usual infirmity, carrying nothing with it, ex- 
cept a loving remembrance and desire of reach- 
ing thither, whither it can no way ascend, while 
the filth of earthly affections is not yet fully 
cleansed. 

2. The second state is of contemplative life, to 
which the soul prepares its ascent by the ex- 
tinction of vicious habits, by the suppression of 
its own passions and perfect renunciation of all 
things and of itself. Placed in this state it em- 
braces God, and almost possesses him, by an act 
of love continued for some short time with great 
peace of mind. For, shortly after the soul had 
passed through the exercises of active life, it 
finds its bridegroom and endeavors to retain him 
with itself "till the day break and the shadows 
retire," and that time arrive, when divested of 
the body it may now cease to serve the body, 
and so may possess the beloved, as not to be any 
more forced to be away from him. 

3. The third state is made up of action and 
contemplation. In it the soul separated from 
contemplation at the bridegroom's command 
goes forth into the fields and into the towns? 



484 PART THIRD. 

that by the word of preaching it may feed the 
Lord's flock, following the example of the good 
shepherd, who on account of the exceeding great 
charity, with which he hath loved us, descended 
to earth from the bosom of his Father, about to 
Beek with great labors and to redeem with his 
own blood, the little sheep that had been lost. 
But it is necessary to be separated from contem- 
plation from time to time, and to interrupt its 
act for a while both on our neighbor's account, 
and on our own. On account of our neighbor, 
when a superior calls and orders us to forsake 
contemplation ; for quitting all at once it be- 
hooves us to obey, because "Obedience is better 
than sacrifices" (1 Kings, xv, 22). Next, that 
as far as we can, we may relieve our brethren 
in every corporal and spiritual necessity (Eccl. 
xvii, 12) : "God gave to every one of them com- 
mandment regarding his neighbor;" and (1 Tim. 
iii, 13) : "They that have ministered well, shall 
purchase to themselves a good degree." On our 
own account, that we may sometimes consider 
the vanity of the world, the shortness of life, 
the bitterness of hell, lest perhaps, through ex- 
cess of presumption and security we may fall 
from the state of perfection, and the fall be the 
more severe the higher the place was whence we 
fell. Then, that we may render necessary duties 
to the body; for we are frail men, nor can we 
always be engaged in contemplation, like the 



OF THE UNITIVE WAT. 485 

Angels of God, who use invisible bread, that we 
know not. 

4. The fourth and final state is when the 
soul, longing with insatiable desire for super- 
human and almost divine life, burns with so 
strong a fire of divine love that it is death to it 
to remain in the flesh, and it seems to it as if 
another hell to be in pilgrimage from the Lord. 
Therefore, it endures and solaces its exile in fer- 
vent zeal for the gain of souls to its most beloved 
Bridegroom and the accomplishment of his will. 
To a soul raised to this state, whatever it beholds 
is sad, because it hitherto sees not him whom 
alone it longs to see. These are its expressions : 
"Wo is me, that my sojourning is prolonged: I 
have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: my 
soul hath been long sojourning" (Ps. cxix, 5, 6) ; 
and (Ibid, lxxii, 25): "For what have I iu 
heaven? and besides thee what do I desire upon 
earth ? . Thou art the God of my heart, 

and the God that is my portion for ever." Like- 
wise (Cant, viii, 1): "Who shall give thee to 
me for my brother, sucking the breasts of 
my mother, that I may find thee without, and 
kiss thee, and now no man may despise me?" 
That is, the soul wishes, after having obtained 
the salvation of men, to return again to the con- 
templation of God and the possession of him by 
love; it longs to be dissolved and be with Christ, 



486 PABT THIBD. 

and desires to be introduced to most blessed 
union with God. 

§4. — Of the Qualities and Effects of Divine 

Love. 
1. There are innumerable qualities of divine 
love, innumerable effects and prerogatives, which 
we have not to discuss singly in this place. The 
principal are union and mutual adherence. For 
it unites man with God and transforms him into 
God, as Augustin writes : Each man is such, as 
is his love. Do you love the earth? you are 
earth. Do you love God? what shall I say? 
you are God/' He says (Ps. lxxxi, 6) : "I have 
said; you are Gods." For as iron, naturally 
black and frigid, when it remains in the fire, 
gradually loses its blackness and becomes all ig- 
nited: so the soul swallowed up in the flames of 
divine love is made one spirit with God, passing 
into that unity which the Lord Jesus asked of 
his Father, saying (John. xvii. 22) : "Father, I 
pray, that they may be one, as we also are one." 
But from this unity proceeds mutual adherence, 
because God and man love one another and re- 
turn love for love, and mutually wish and pro- 
cure each other good things. Therefore, it is 
peculiar to friends to have identity of wishes and 
dislikes: to be glad at the same thing and sorry 
for the same thing- and whatever belongs to 
the beloved the lover considers his own, as be- 



OF THE TJNITIVE WAY. 487 

ing made the same with him and transformed 
into his .likeness. 

2. Again, love produces ecstasy, because it 
transports a man outside of himself > and trans* 
f ers his whole affection to the object loved ; then 
it begets forgetfulness of self, and causes a man 
not to seek his own interest, but that of Jesus 
Christ; nor allows lovers to be at their own dis- 
posal, but at that of another whom they love. 
Hence, it is the disposition of a true lover to 
think continually of the beloved, and always to 
keep him before the mind's eye, because love is 
the bond of spirits, nor would it link minds to- 
gether, unless it joined their fhoughts. There- 
fore, love so excites and fires the mind that it 
can think only of God, and strive to fathom 
everything most profound of his after the man- 
ner of the Holy Ghost, who is God's love, and 
"seareheth the deep things of God." This lover 
God meets not only during prayer, but even in 
exterior actions ; for created things are to him as 
a mirror, in which he beholds the Creator. 

3. Divine love is the knowledge of God, be- 
cause love is an eye, and to love is to see; nor 
can it be that God offer himself not to be 
known to a friend very ardently demanding, 
and, as far as lies in him, procuring it. But this 
is that sweetness and unction of spirit of which 
it is written (1 John, ii, 27): "His unction 
teacheth you of all things." This is the wisdom 



488 PART THIRD. 

of the just, from which it generally happens that 
an illiterate man, on fire with the love of God, 
knows more about God than the most learned 
Divine destitute of God's love. This is that 
mystic Theology, namely, the savory and con- 
templative knowledge of God, celebrated by all, 
perused by many, understood by few, which the 
great Denis the Areopagite wrote, and some of 
the holy Fathers have explained, which can in a 
short time raise to the highest knowledge of 
God an unsophisticated man inflamed with his 
love. 

4. Divine love so nourishes the soul as not 
to satiate it nevertheless; for (Eccl. xxiv, 29): 
"They that eat me shall yet hunger," he says. 
Therefore, the soul thinks nothing, seeks nothing 
but God, and the more it finds the more it de- 
sires him. For God is infinitely amiable, nor 
can he be loved as much as he deserves. Divine 
love is likewise most intrepid; it undertakes ar- 
duous things, is immovable in dangers, makes 
the faint-hearted courageous, shirks not labors, 
scorns difficulties, and measures them not by 
reason, but by desire (Cant, viii, 6): "Love is 
strong as death," yea, stronger than death, be- 
cause even that has been conquered by love. A 
true lover of God cannot be vanquished. Love 
overcomes all things. Satisfied with itself, love 
seeks not reward; to it, as.to their end, all pre- 
cepts, all counsels are directed; by loving others' 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 489 

goods it makes them its own, and all works, how- 
ever trifling and of no value, it renders mer- 
itorious of eternal life, and whatever it touches it 
changes to gold. 

5. Love is secure in the midst of reproaches, 
beneficent in the midst of grudges, calm in an- 
ger, unhurt in the midst of snares, strong in suf- 
ferings, modest in prosperity, constant in adver- 
sity. Love is all joyful, all delightful, all sweet 
and generous. Love pierces and softens ; exalts 
and humbles ; wounds and heals ; kills and brings 
to life ; the heart of a true lover always meditates 
on love, his tongue always discourses of love, ever 
recalls love to memory, ever enlightens the un- 
derstanding, inflames the will, sanctifies the soul 
with love. Love knows not delays, performs 
great things ; its force is immense, its power im- 
pregnable (Rom. viii, 35): "Who then shall 
separate us from the love of Christ ? shall tribu- 
lation? or distress or famine? or nakedness? or 
danger? or persecution? or the sword?" As- 
suredly, if we be true lovers, "neither death, nor 
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to come, nor might, 
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature 
shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 



Chapter IV. — Of the Soul's Union With God. 
With God's favor we have arrived at the sum- 
mit of all virtues, at the culmination of christian 



490 PABT THIRD. 

perfection, at blessed union with God, to which 
all things, that have been hitherto written, tend 
and are directed. This is the last and noblest 
end, which we ought to aim at in every religious 
exercise, at which I pray we may be able at 
length to arrive, and repose therein, as far as 
is allowed to pilgrims. 



§1. — What the Union of the Soul With God Is. 
1. Union, as the name itself indicates, is noth- 
ing else than that by which one is made of two 
or more. Therefore, we have to enquire how 
one may be made from God and the soul, and 
this union will be explained. And, first, this union 
does not take place in the soul's substance, by 
supposing that God is intimately present to the 
soul; for God is thus present to all things by 
reason of his immensity; or by saying that the 
soul loses its own bein«; and is changed into God; 
for this is false and erroneous. Again, we do not 
here speak of union through grace and charity; 
for there are many just men, having perfect char- 
ity, to whom this mystic union has not been 
granted. It remains therefore that this union 
takes place in the soul's powers, namely, in the 
understanding and will; for these faculties of 
the soul reach God, and are united to him by 
their own vital actions, and in them contempla- 
tion and love essentially consist. 



OF THE UXITIVE WAY. 491 

2. In this union the understanding, sprinkled 
with the clearest light of wisdom, beholds God as 
a certain whole, in which is all good, so that it 
cannot be diverted from him to anything else ; 
and the will is constrained by the most ardent 
love, which, bursting forth after the manner of 
fire, seems to consume all things, so that the soul 
now lives not in itself, nor attends to natural ac- 
tions, but with its whole affection passes into 
him, to whom it is united in the closest embrace. 
This is the "peace, which surpasses all under- 
standing, peace, which the world cannot give." 
Here is the counter of the sons of God having "a 
new name written, which no man knoweth, but 
he that receiveth it" (Apoc. ii, 17). Here the 
spirit after the manner of Moses is called into a 
divine cloud. Here the Lord is felt in a whisper 
of gentle breath. Here Solomon sleeps and 
rests peaceful in his bride-chamber. Here stands 
"Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind." Here 
the soul says: "It is good for us to be here." 
Here it is introduced into the cellar of wine, 
where it sings the nuptial song (Cant, ii, 16, 6) : 
"My beloved to me, and I to him; his left hand 
is under my head, and his right hand shall em- 
brace me." 

3. This union can be made clear by various 
examples and comparisons. If a wild olive tree 
be grafted on an olive tree, it becomes partner of 
the root and fatness of the olive tree, as the 



492 PABT THIBD. 

Apostle says (Roin. xi, 17). Thus by mystic 
union the soul is joined to God, as a sprout of 
one tree is inserted in the trunk of another, 
from which it receives nutriment, to bear fruit, 
not such as it would have previously produced, 
but like to what the tree in which it is inserted 
bears. In like manner the soul feels that it is 
taken up by God, and receives from him helps 
of grace and the most perfect love, by which it 
is made very like to him in purity of life. Then 
it understands the meaning of that of John (xv, 
5): "I am the vine, you the branches;" and 
that other: "He that abideth in me, and I in 
him: the same beareth much fruit." Again, if 
two mirrors be set opposite to each other, one 
receives the image of the other and is received 
by it in turn. Thus when the soul by mystic 
union can say (Cant, vii, 10) : "I to my beloved, 
and his turning is towards me;" then two bright- 
est mirrors of the divine Majesty and of the 
human mind are placed opposite to one another; 
and the latter receives the brightness and heat of 
the former, so that its most beautiful image is 
seen in the understanding and affection. Finally, 
iron cast into the fire becomes ignited, but does 
not cease to be iron. Still it assumes certain 
qualities of fire; it was black, obscure and cold; 
and from the fire it becomes shining white, 
bright and hot. Thus the soul remaining in its 
being, on account of being united to God, who 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 493 

is a consuming fire, becomes inflamed in a man- 
ner, and puts on his light, beauty and fervor; so 
that its word, as if the word of God, is "exceed- 
ingly refined," inflaming, and leading its hearers 
from the allurements of the world to the love of 
God. 

§2. — Of Things Which Retard and Impede 

Union. 
1. "Many are called, but few are chosen." 
Many souls are sweetly invited to intimate union 
with God, who are very well adapted to it, and 
do not reach it, because no doubt they neglect to 
hear the voice of him who invites, languishing in 
wretchedness, and occupied about unprofitable 
things, from which they are either unwilling or 
know not how to be separated. Therefore, it is 
incumbent with all diligence to remove whatever 
can hinder or retard us from ascending to this 
high plane of blessed union. But the following 
are the chief impediments : Too great sensuality 
of nature in quest of conveniences and comforts, 
at least in affection , if impossible in effect — in food, 
drink, raiment, conversations, and other pleas- 
ures, which, though they may be free from fault, 
at least of the graver kind, yet render spiritual 
exercises difficult and distasteful; for divine wis- 
dom (Job, xxviii, 13) "is not found in the land 
of those that live in delights;" and (Eccl. x, 1) 
''dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment," 



494 PABT THIBD. 

Next comes the excessive presumption of those 
who are austere in chastising the body, and are 
assiduously devoted to spiritual exercises. For 
on that account these are vainly puffed up, and 
judge and despise others, saying with the Phar- 
isee (Luke, xviii, 11) : "I am not as the rest of 
men;" and because they are full of pride, the 
Lord, who "gives grace to the humble" alone, 
turns away from them. 

2. The scrupulosity, also, of some, curable by 
no repetition of confessions, by no rigor of satis- 
faction, is detrimental to union. For these have 
small confidence in the divine goodness, always 
uneasy and never secure, and "like the slain 
sleeping in the sepulchres." Likewise, inordinate 
affection of human favor, praise and complacence, 
when a man does what withdraws from the pur- 
suit of perfection, because he fears to be de- 
spised, or cut off from the friendship of others, 
since it is written (Gal. i, 10) : "If I yet pleased 
men, I should not be the servant of Christ:" and 
(Ps. lii, 6): "They that please men have been 
confounded, because God hath despised them." 
Immortification of self follows, when one does 
not fully renounce himself in the manner already 
explained. Then too great engagement of the 
heart, even in lawful things, because (Eccl. 
xxxviii, 25) : "He that is less in action shall re- 
ceive wisdom." Finally, excessive curiosity of 
the understanding by investigating and reasoning, 



OF TEE UNITIVE WAY. 495 

because (Prov. xxv, 27): "He that is a searcher 
of majesty, shall be overwhelmed by glory," and 
he who desires to be carried on to union, ought 
to seek nothing in his contemplation but what 
may inflame the affection and appertain to union 
itself. 

§3. — Of the Impediments of Union — continued. 
1. As in the laborious ascent of a mountain, 
many things are met with which either prevent 
or delay a man from gaining the summit, so to 
those who desire by ascending to arrive at blessed 
union with Grod, which is a very high moun- 
tain, many obstacles are wont to occur, which 
cause delay in their progress and obstruct their 
course. The first impediment is want of perse- 
verance. For some, after they ascend a short 
distance, if any hindrance or toil happen to them, 
at once turn back. Not to advance is to recede: 
and "no man putting his hand to the plow, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 
There are others, who in the ascent observe 
neither system nor moderation, wishing at one 
leap to reach the mountain's top; and these no 
doubt exhaust themselves in foolish labor; for 
it is necessary to begin at the bottom and pass 
through the intervening spaces, that is, to be 
purified, then to be illuminated and lastly per- 
fected. Others carrying very heavy burdens on 
their shoulders, believe that they can ascend 



496 PABT THIBD. 

thus laden. But these burdens are worldly oc- 
cupations, which weigh down the soul and force 
it to turn back. 

2. There are others, again, who, on ac- 
count of the flies flitting by, which are idle and 
vain thoughts, abandon the journey they had 
commenced, when they ought rather drive them 
away with the hand of a holy indignation. There 
are, also, some who wander from the way going 
after these flies like children pursuing butterflies. 
There are, besides, persons who are at once ter- 
rified at the baying of the infernal hounds, to 
wit: who feeling some impure temptation either 
quit the journey, or do battle with the tempta- 
tion itself, endeavoring to put it away from 
them; when they ought rather as strangers and 
travelers to despise the barkers and pursue their 
journey with increased speed. For if a traveler 
were to be arrested by every bark, trying either 
to defend himself, or to keep the dogs in check, 
both they would bark the more and he himself 
would retard his progress. There are others 
also, who coming to steep and inaccessible places 
will not reach a hand to him who can give them 
help; but confiding in their own strength fall 
and tumble to the bottom. Wherefore, it be- 
hooves frequently to recur to the aid of divine 
grace and to presume on nothing of one's self. 

3. Others imagine they suddenly take their 
stand on the top of the mountain ? when in reality 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 497 

they still loiter at its foot; these refuse to climb, 
and beguiled by much labor always cling to earth. 
There are some also, who have reached the sum- 
mit, but are immediately puffed up with vain- 
glory, as if they had performed the journey by 
their own strength, and despise others in lower 
positions, and are therefore forsaken by God, and 
by a pitiable fall are cast down to the lowest 
condition, without any or with little hope of re- 
storation. Some ascend either with bad inten- 
tion, or through curiosity, in order to examine 
some secrets, or through vanity, that they may 
be able to say: We, too, have been there; or on 
account of the agreeable prospect of the place, 
that they may recreate themselves, not to please 
God and serve him better. But these at length 
find themselves miserably deceived; for they 
think they are on the mountain of God, when 
they are on the devil's mountain. Others are 
too much busied seeking the way in study and 
reading, that they may know how to discourse of 
it and teach it to others ; and these ever remain 
in the lowest place, knowing good and not putting 
it into effect. 

4. Others, after they have entered on one path, 
forthwith turn aside to another either through 
fickleness, or because they think it easier, and 
these never reach the summit. Others, moreover, 
while they ascend look back, and if any one in- 
(32— Spir. Life.) 



498 PART THIBD. 

vite them to descend, they soon forsake the, 
journey commenced; who afterwards reascend 
with so much the greater difficulty, the longer 
they are detained in lower paths. Therefore, it 
is necessary to leap back speedily, and though 
the body on account of its numerous necessities 
may be sometimes beneath, let the heart at least 
be above and fastened on the mountain. Very 
many, too, in the ascent make many and large ex- 
penses by continual bodily penances; and these, 
wanting discretion, render themselves incapable of 
ascending. 

5. There are, also, some who, when they have 
ascended, imagine they are never to come down 
thence, but trust that they shall always dwell 
there in perpetual abode, as in an hereditary 
right; and these, under God's disposition, often 
fall, that they may know their frailty and be 
humbled in the fear of ever falling; for God's 
grace placed them there, and will cause them to 
remain in the same place as long as it shall please 
him. Lastly, some are found too precipitate and 
striving to go in advance of their guide, which is 
the grace of God; and these, in punishment of 
their presumption, are abandoned and go astray. 
For it behooves us with the greatest vigilance to 
guard our heart, and carefully to observe the vis- 
itation of divine grace and be guided by its im- 
pulse, neither too slowly nor too quickly ; believ- 
ing ourselves unworthy to lie at the base of this 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 499 

mount, much more to ascend to its summit. For 
the deeper a man will be humbled in his heart, 
the higher shall he be drawn. 



§4. — Of the Preparations and Dispositions 
Necessary for Union. 

1. Many are the preparations, by which a 
soul is disposed and fitted to arrive at intimate 
union with God. The frst consists in works and 
exercises of the active life, and in practices of 
all the moral virtues. Secondly, detachment 
from all creatures is requisite. For, since two 
opposites cannot subsist together, the soul can- 
not receive the light of divine union, unless it 
drive out of itself the darkness of creatures, 
namely, all attachments and affections towards 
them. Then each one ought to flee from himself 
and live without himself, that he may live in 
God ; for the farther he recedes from himself, 
the closer shall he come to God. But we shall 
attain to that, if we practice perfect renunciation, 
of which we have already treated. Solitude of 
mind and interior silence are likewise required, 
that is, a certain mental divesting and total de- 
spoiling of all images, which do not represent the 
beloved, so that the spirit may be entirely free 
and at rest from troublesome cares and ideas, and 
may possess God alone, stripped of all concern, 
and free from all desire and disengaged from all 
anxiety of created things. 



500 PART THIRD. 

2. We should, also, resign and perfectly 
offer ourselves to God, with total indifference 
to any ailment and pain whatsoever of body, to 
every disgrace and confusion, to every penalty 
and privation, to this or that habitation, to this 
or that service, to the want of all sensible grace 
and devotion, in fine, to death and to all that can 
happen to us in time and in eternity, so as to be 
prepared to endure even the pains of hell for the 
glory of the Lord, provided we fall not from his 
grace. Indifference is to be practiced likewise 
in what regards our spiritual progress ; for neither 
ought we be attached to virtues themselves and 
good works, except as far as God's good pleas- 
ure is accomplished in them. We should do, in- 
deed, all that lies in us, but the issue and success 
of the matter is to be awaited from God with the 
utmost tranquility. But because union is a select 
and singular gift of God, it ought to be asked of 
him with fervent and constant prayer, as it is 
written (James, i, 17): "Every best gift, and 
every perfect gift is from above, coming down 
from the Father of lights.'' Ejaculatory prayers 
or aspirations are particularly necessary, by which 
practice the soul is so lifted up that it is hardly 
credible how quickly it conceives a sense of God 
and arrives at the wished-for union with him. 
In fine, the three preceding sections contain 
nothing else but a preparation of the soul for 
union ; on which account all that is written therein 
ought to be carefully read over again. 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 50l 

3. But that the powers of the soul may be 
proximately disposed for union, the soul itself 
ought to be first exempt from every appetite, 
even the slightest, so that it may in no way ad- 
vertently assent to known imperfection. And 
the will ought to be devoid of all inclination 
towards things temporal, natural, sensual, moral, 
supernatural and spiritual, reserving immediately 
to God alone its love and affection. For every, 
even the smallest, attachment to anything is 
like the remora, a very small fish, which, if it 
fasten on a ship, stops and holds it in mid course. 
Exactly thus it is wont to happen to many souls, 
which, as ships laden with the riches of good 
works and of virtues, on account of some very 
trifling gratification, never reach the port of 
union, to attain which nothing more was want- 
ing than to withdraw from some silly trifle and 
put away from themselves the hindrance of a 
vicious attachment. In like manner the memory 
ought to be prepared and kept free from all im- 
pression of thoughts, which can allure to any- 
thing outside God, although it may appear good 
and useful, not reflecting on any object, but 
resting in the remembrance of God alone. Fi- 
nally, the understanding is rendered fit for union, 
if it be free from all corporal and spiritual ob- 
servation; if it reject all visions, apparitions and 
revelations, though true and divine, because they 
are not a necessary means of union; if it truly 



502 PABT THIBD. 

acknowledge its own baseness and the presence 
of divine grace, and be conscious to itself of 
nothing, on account of which it may blush at the 
exposure of the truth. 



§5. — Of the State of Union. 
1. That sublime rapture, by which a soul is 
carried forward to most happy union, so that ad- 
hering to God it is made one spirit with him, 
can occur in two ways. For sometimes it is ac- 
complished with our co-operation, sometimes 
without us ; and thus a twofold union, one active, 
the other passive, is usually described by mystic 
writers. That is called active union, to which 
the spirit is raised in an active or human manner, 
by preparing itself for its reception with its own 
co-operation and effort. The passive takes place 
in a wonderful and more excellent manner, the 
divine spirit transporting our spirit and impelling 
it without any effort on its part, and raising it to 
intimate union with such force and efficacy, that 
even if it will, it cannot resist, nor can it escape 
the most sweet embraces of God, by which the 
soul, with the suspension of its faculties, is car- 
ried above itself, and is dazzled, pervaded, and 
absorbed by celestial light. But this union is 
not called passive, for the reason that the will is 
inactive and merely suffers; but because it can- 
not effect a union of this kind, unless it be fur- 
thered interiorly by God in a peculiar manner, 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 503 

and aided by the service of the Holy Ghost. It 
holds itself therefore, as if passive, by receiving 
that movement of God which is itself, however, 
a sort of vital operation ; and as his own pleasure 
draws each one, not by force or co-action, but 
willingly, so the will is transported with immense 
sweetness, which accompanies the efficacy of the 
heavenly mover. The first union consists in 
attachment and fruition. The first union is 
reached in the scholastic way, as they say, which 
is common, laborious and tedious; namely, by 
acts of the understanding, by the practice of 
virtues, and by ascent from creatures to the Cre- 
ator; the second is reached by the mystic way, 
which is nobler, easier and short, and very brief, 
hidden from the wise and prudent, and revealed 
to the child-like and humble alone, to wit: by 
acts of the will and love, by burning and repeated 
aspirations. 

2. But by whichsoever way a man may arrive 
at this blessed union, he is certainly most blessed 
who is found worthy of so great a boon. Inas- 
much as a soul raised to this state is in a won- 
derful manner pervaded by the divine effulgence 
which goes forth from God, and being set on fire 
by God intimately united to it, it proves that it 
is a kind of God, as iron in glowing heat won- 
derfully resembles fire, and possesses its proper- 
ties. But its faculties are introduced into the 
boundless solitude of the deity, so to speak, 



504 PART THIBD. 

where the will perceives God with ineffable sense; 
and the understanding, with the loss of all dis- 
tinction and variety of things, and transcending 
all likenesses, even the noblest, contemplates 
God while most wisely ignorant of him ; for it 
does not clearly behold him as in heaven, but by 
a lofty species of ignorance; namely, by that ir- 
rational and senseless wisdom, so much celebrated 
by Saint Denis the Areopagite, it knows him di- 
vinely. For our heavenly Father dwelling in us 
visits us by himself, and carries us beyond rea- 
son, and stripping us of all likenesses, draws us 
into our beginning, where we find only an im- 
mense 9 desert nudity, devoid of all forms or im- 
ages, ever in keeping with eternity. Here the 
Father bestows on us his Son, and the Son per- 
vading our understanding divested of images 
with an infinite splendor, which is himself, raises 
us up, that we may contemplate that light with 
intense gaze, though we cannot comprehend it. 
Here the soul lives with the life of God, since its 
operations, on account of its intimate union with 
God, are in a manner rendered divine, according 
to that of the Apostle (Rom. viii, 14): "For 
whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are 
the sons of God." Here the Holy Ghost lav- 
ishes himself on the soul, absorbing the soul 
itself, and inflaming it wholly with the immense 
ardor of divine love, and gluing our love to- 
gether with himself, and drawing us into the 



OF THE umriVE WAY. 505 

same fruition and beatitude with himself, as it is 
written (Cant, ii, 16): "My beloved to me, and 
I to him;" and also (Gal. ii, 20): "And I live, 
now not I: but Christ liveth in me," because, in- 
deed, what is mortal in us is swallowed up by im- 
mortal life. 

§6.-0/ the Effects of Union. 

1. The first effect is a mystic annihilation of 
the soul, which takes place in the longing union 
itself, and by unitive love with the immense and 
incomprehensible abyss of the Deity, in which 
the soul is swallowed up and in a manner annihi- 
lated, as a drop of water falling into a flask of 
wine, or a spark flying into a great and wide- 
spread conflagration . But this annihilation is un- 
derstood mystically, improperly and figuratively ; 
not that the soul ceases to be and is reduced to 
nonentity ; but because by unitive love all its an- 
tecedent habits and imperfections are taken away, 
so that nothing of them remains; and the soul 
itself so lowers and humbles itself before the su- 
preme and infinite Deity, that it can say with the 
Prophet (Ps. lxxii, 22): "I am brought to noth- 
ing, and I knew not." 

2. The second effect is the death of the soul, 
not indeed physical or common, but spiritual and 
mystic; namely, that death of which we sing (Ps. 
cxv, 5): "Precious in the sight of the Lord is 
the death of his saints;" desirable death, of 



506 Pabt thibd. 

which the Apostle says (Colos. iii, 3) : "For you 
are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in 
God;" death, by which the soul, though it does 
not depart from life, does however from the sense 
of life, and transcends the figures of corporeal 
likenesses rushing upon it, saying with holy Job 
(vii, 15): "My soul hath chosen hanging, and 
my bones death." This death Saint Bernard 
ventures to call the death of Angels, which would 
that we may die, that passing with Christ cruci- 
fied from this world to the Father, the Father 
himself being revealed to us, we may say with 
Philip (John, xiv, 8): "It is enough for us." 

3. The third is liquefaction of the soul (Cant. 
v, 6): "My soul melted, when (my beloved) 
spoke." For in a secret manner God in intimate 
union pours himself into the longing soul, and 
melts it, dissolving all hardness of heart, and 
wonderfully transports it to the contemplation of 
celestial joys, the taste of which so affects the 
lover, that whatever humors are in the body seem 
to be melted and resolved into tears of love. 

4. The fourth, fervor and languor (Cant, ii, 
5): "Stay me up with flowers, compass me about 
with apples: because I languish with love." 
There is One whom I love, whom I desire, after 
whom I sigh, by whom I am satisfied, by whom 
I am refreshed; nothing besides him has any 
relish, any sweetness for me. I burn with ex- 
cessive ardor, I swoon and languish. Because no 



OF THE UNITIVE WAT 507 

doubt the soul having entered into the darkness 
(Ps. xcvi, 2), and being united to God, longs for 
his clear presence, to which as it cannot attain in 
this life, it burns with such fervor and from fervor 
falls into such languor, that it completely swoons, 
and admitting no consolation cries out continually 
with the Spouse (Cant, v, 8): "Tell (the be- 
loved), that I languish with love;" and with the 
Apostle (Eom. vii, 24) : "Who shall deliver me 
from the body of this death?" 

5. There are, also, several other effects of 
mystic union, and those hidden and recondite, 
which no man knows but he who receives them. 
Of this kind are suspension of the powers of the 
soul, silence, spiritual intoxication, the sacred 
kiss, which the spouse in the Canticles sought ; 
taste, touch and embrace of the divinity ; the en- 
trance of God into the soul, that no language 
can express ; interior speech of God to the soul 
pronouncing hidden words, which it is not given 
to man to speak; ecstasy, rapture, transport of 
mind and many other things, which I willingly 
pass over; for unction will instruct on all these 
effects those who may be worthy to be raised to 
such a height. Which I pray may be our lot 
through the grace of God, Amen ! 



§7. — Of Daily Renewal of Union. 
1. Though union be a gratuitous gift, and 
what the Scripture says in another sense may be 



508 PABT THIBD. 

affirmed of it (Rom. ix, 16): "It is not of him 
that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of 
God that sheweth mercy;" still, because it does 
not exclude our co-operation and God does not 
refuse grace to one that does what lies in him, 
according to that of Matthew (vii, 7): "Ask, 
and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall 
find: knock, and it shall be opened' to you," 
therefore, in the conclusion of this treatise, I 
thought it would be worth my while to acid the 
method of always living in God, and of daily re- 
newing union, as well for those who have been 
already worthy of this greatest favor of God, 
that they may not lose it, as for others, who have 
not yet been able to ascend to this lofty height, 
that they may reach it sooner. 

2. After finishing, then, all the exercises 
which regard preparation for contemplation, we 
ought to aim at truly and perfectly living and 
remaining in God. But this will be done by 
two virtues, by lively faith and ardent charity; 
and first we must believe that we are in God and 
that God is within us, as it is written (John, xv, 
5) : "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the 
same beareth much fruit." Next, we must take 
measures to remain in him, keeping the powers 
of the soul and the senses ever confined to God, 
so that in all we may happen to hear, see and 
taste, we may regard God present, in holy sim- 
plicity and humility considering all things both 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 509 

ill and good, not as from creatures, but immedi- 
ately from God, and referring them again to 
God. Then, from all occurrences whatsoever 
let us derive God's glory and good pleasure, and 
our own and our neighbors' salvation; since we 
know and hold by certain faith that we and all 
creatures are in God, because we have renounced 
and shut ourselves up in God ; and thus no crea- 
ture can affect us without first affecting God, 
who is our sole and ineffable good, more closely 
associated with our soul than the soul is with 
the body. 

3. After these we shall, inflamed with divine 
love, approach the divinity and the exercise of 
union, which shall be done in this way: Falling 
down before an image of Christ crucified, we 
shall, with the eyes of faith, behold him and wor- 
ship him as truly present. And because we daily 
fall into some defect, even after blessed union 
with God, and he suffers no imperfection, how- 
ever slight in him, to whom he is to be united: 
therefore, we shall ascend to the divinity through 
the most sacred wounds of Christ, as he himself 
says (John, x, 9): "I am the door; by me if 
any man enter in, he shall be saved: 
and shall find pastures." And, first, we shall 
moisten his sacred feet with tears, immersing 
ourselves and all our sins, and whatever inter- 
venes between us and God in his wounds; with 
an ardent desire of embracing all virtues, and of 



510 PABT THIBD. 

crucifying all our faculties and powers with 
Christ; with full confidence, too, that he has 
swallowed up all our defects in the immense ocean 
of his superabundant merits, and entirely forgiven 
us. Next, we shall draw nearer to his holy hands, 
which he extends to us in token of friendship, 
and there excluding from our heart all cares and 
distractions and all creatures, shut ourselves up 
in God and God in us, so to speak, with our col- 
lected strength, and with our senses within the 
most sacred wounds of his hands. Then we shall 
ask the Father to remove from our memory, by 
his infinite power, all extraneous images, and fill 
it with himself and divine images. We shall ask 
the Son, by his eternal wisdom, mercifully to 
enlighten our understanding with the knowledge 
of the supreme and uncreated good, and of his 
benefits, and of his will, and of our own nothing- 
ness. We shall ask the Holy Ghost, by his in- 
comprehensible bounty, entirely to transport into 
himself, to absorb and inflame with the most 
ardent charity our will and all our affections. 
Finally, we shall beseech Jesus crucified, that he 
may deign to strip every faculty and sense of 
ours of all phantoms and vices, and simply and 
purely to unite and shut up himself entire in 
them and them in him. 

4. All this being done two faculties, to wit: 
the understanding and the will, are to be aroused. 
And, first, we shall excite the understanding to 



OF THE TJNITIVE WAY. 511 

know the sovereign goodness and excellence of 
God, and the stupendous works of love which he 
has condescended to show us, especially those 
benefits which he has bestowed on us through 
his only-begotten Son. Afterwards we shall in- 
flame the will to love him whom we know to be 
the supreme good, and who has so much loved 
us with eternal charity. With our whole affec- 
tion, then, we shall love him with disinterested 
love, that we may be divested and free of all love 
of created things, however holy and necessary 
they may seem; because these cannot be loved 
with God, who claims our love for himself by the 
highest right ; and Christ our Lord died for us. 
poor and naked, on the cross. We shall likewise 
love him with pure love, which chiefly consists in 
mortification of all passions, in true regulation of 
all the soul's faculties, and in immunity from all 
impediments and imaginations. Also with ar- 
dent and efficacious love, that may absorb and 
almost consume disinterested and pure love, and 
make us one with God, and render us as if insen- 
sible to all things that are not God ; from which 
it may occur that wherever or with whomsoever 
we may happen to be, we can always abide with 
God. [ 

5 Inflamed with this threefold love, we shall 
draw near to the most sweet heart of Jesus, 
manfully collecting within us all the senses of 
the body, all the powers of the soul, as if we 



512 PABT THIBD. 

were dead to all things. But in this abyss of 
most ardent charity we shall, first, in the simplic- 
ity of our heart most freely offer ourselves with 
all creatures to God, to undergo every adversity, 
pain and distress in time and eternity, even the 
pains of hell, for love of him, that he may en- 
tirely perfect and accomplish his will in us. 
/Secondly, w r e shall ask of God all the gifts he 
has that we need, in order to enjoy him alone in 
his disinterested and infinite love. We shall ask, 
also, perseverance in all good, and all things nec- 
essary for the salvation of the living and the 
dead. Thirdly, we shall conform ourselves to 
the divine pleasure by desiring, if it should be 
agreeable to it, to live in the poverty and misery 
in which Christ lived, and to adorn our disen- 
gaged soul with those virtues with w T hich he was 
adorned. Fourthly, we shall raise up our heart, 
and pray to be inflamed with that love with 
which Christ burned, that being thus conformed 
to him according to his humanity and divinity, 
and rendered God-like, we may be most happily 
united to him without any medium. Thus leav- 
ing outside whatever has been created, and not 
having a feeling or thought of ourselves we shall 
transfer and immerge ourselves, replete with burn- 
ing love, into our most delicious God, as one 
drop of water is absorbed by the sea, so that 
thenceforth we can never more be found by any 
creature. Thus thinking we shall be without any 



OF THE UNITIVE WAY. 513 

thought, knowing without knowledge, loving 
without love; and we shall be made by grace 
what God is by nature. In fine, thus united 
most purely with God, we shall feel and experi- 
ence those things that can be neither spoken nor 
written, nor have entered into the heart of man. 
namely, ineffable goods and known to the ex- 
perienced alone, which God has prepared for 
those who love him. 

This is the goal of sanctity, this the pinnacle 
of perfection. This is that one thing which 
Christ taught to be alone necessary; this is the 
end towards which we ought to move and 
hasten. This is the gate of Paradise, this a 
foretaste of eternal felicity; this the delight, 
this the repose, this the beatitude of our soul as 
well in this life as in the next; this our reward 
exceeding great, namely, intimate union with 
God, to which may we be mercifully conducted by 
Jesus Christ the Son of God, most sweet Bride- 
groom of our souls, w T ho with the Father and the 
Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God in supreme 
and perfect unity for ever and ever. Amen ! 






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